A photo shared online on May 4, 2021, shows a throng in al Dablan Street in Homs city, without observing any social distancing measures, and ignoring the importance of wearing protective facemasks, violating all the precautionary measures introduced to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic among the public.
SNHR notes that the numbers of COVID-19 cases in areas under the Syrian regime’s control continue to increase constantly, having already reached 23,051 in total, including 1,617 deaths, according to the Syrian Ministry of Health’s latest statement issued on May 4, 2021. Despite this, however, the Syrian regime has taken no real action to prevent public overcrowding at social events like this or while crowds of citizens queue to obtain essential items such as bread and gas and to collect their salaries; this negligence on the regime’s part is a blatant violation of the precautionary measures introduced to prevent the transmission or spread of the disease. The SNHR notes that this is further confirmation that a regime which is already responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of Syrians and displacing 12 million more as refugees and IDPs will not care for its people in any way.
The Syrian regime has failed to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic among Syrian citizens, and bears the responsibility for its spread as a result of its neglecting to implement the precautionary measures stipulated by the World Health Organization.
