Syrian President, 1st Lady test Covid positive

Damascus, March 9 Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and First Lady Asma al-Assad have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to a state media report.

After experiencing some symptoms, the President and his wife took the PCR test and the result came positive even though they are in good and stable health, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying on Monday.

The couple will be quarantining between two to three weeks while continuing to carry out their work.

The President urged the people to observe safety measures to protect against the pandemic.

Th development comes at a time when Syria is under a stronger wave of the pandemic, with increasing coronavirus cases.

According to the Health Ministry, the country has so far reported 15,981 coronavirus cases, with 10,374 recoveries and 1,063 deaths.

However, medical staff say the number is much higher as many infected people do not undergo tests.

( With inputs from IANS )