Analyst: Actual Coronavirus Numbers in Syria ‘Much Higher’ (AUDIO INTERVIEW)
With official reports of 10 cases and two deaths as of Wednesday, Zaki Mehchy speaks of a possible Syrian cover-up and evidence that health workers are being muzzled
The United Nations’ special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, believes the Middle Eastern country is heading for a COVID-19 calamity.
Speaking on Monday in a videoconference with members of the Security Council, Pedersen said: “We need the kind of sustained period of calm that a nationwide cease-fire would ensure… and this is needed not tomorrow, but now.”
The world body’s emergency relief coordinator, Mark Lowcock, said during the same videoconference that the one death and relative handful of cases being reported at the time were just the “tip of the iceberg.” There has since been a second death for just 10 officially confirmed cases.
Indeed, Zaki Mehchy, a Syria hand and senior consulting fellow at London’s Royal Institute of International Affairs, also known as Chatham House, told The Media Line that his research indicates a possible government cover-up, with low rates of testing and efforts to silence health professionals.
