The Bassil Hospital in Tartous and other public hospitals are still receiving patients suffering from influenza on a daily basis. On Saturday, February 13, there were 18 patients in the Bassil Hospital, with another two in intensive care on ventilators.
At least 24 people have died since the beginning of the outbreak, most of them in the Bassil Hospital. Several patients have died due to infections with serious lung bacteria, while the test results of the other patients have not yet arrived from Damascus.
Al-Watan learned that several of the deaths, which occurred over the last few days, were young people who died while on ventilators inside the hospital. When questioned on the situation, the hospital’s general director requested that Al-Watan obtain permission from the health ministry before agreeing to provide answers. We are yet to receive a response to a set of questions we sent on February 5.
The health director for Tartous, Dr. Ahmed Ammar, responded to a series of questions regarding the disease and the cause of the recent deaths, saying that the directorate had taken all preventative and curative measures to stop the increase of the number of cases and treat those suffering in all its hospitals, in addition to the Bassil and Banyas hospitals.
Ammar added that the directorate was in the process of determining what had occurred, and it will hold medical sessions with specialized doctors to study the case files of patients who died from the disease, and assess all cases after a broad discussion to arrive at valid conclusions. Measures will then be taken in light of the conclusions, including actions against those whose negligence or failure is proven.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
