In the autonomous regions of northern and eastern Syria, the fight against the coronavirus will continue with compulsory mask-wearing in public places from Tuesday (18 August). The wearing of a protective mask will then be obligatory in all areas of city centres, parks, market halls and other places with large crowds of people, according to a decree passed by the local government on Sunday. Up to now, in the North-East Syrian autonomous region, there has only been an urgent recommendation to wear a mask in public during rush hours. However, this recommendation was hardly followed.

There is already an obligation to wear mouth and nose protection in public authorities, while shops and other institutions have been able to decide for themselves whether people have to wear a mask. From this week on, anyone who does not put on a mask will be subject to punitive action.

Northern and Eastern Syria had initially come through the first wave of the pandemic quite lightly. Largely closed borders and strict quarantine conditions kept the region away from the virus. Now, a much-feared wave of infection seems to have swept across North-East Syria. Every day, the number of infections is rising. Currently, 204 cases of infection are reported in the autonomous region. On Sunday, the number of confirmed cases rose by another 22 within one day. One person infected with the coronavirus died during the same period. There are eleven pandemic deaths in total.