“The medical equipment will help protect staff at hospitals in Hasakah and Shaddadi, as well as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Asayish guards responsible for detention camps,” said the coalition forces in a statement.

The supplies include masks, gloves, heart defibrillators, ventilators, and oximeters, it added.

Deputy Director for Civil Affairs for the coalition Colonel Brian Henderson said that the funding was emblematic of the Coalition’s support for the local forces in northeastern Syria.

“As our partner forces improve stability to the region, the Coalition will continue to support their efforts,” he said.

Syrian health authorities have officially say that there are sixteen cases of coronavirus in the country, including two deaths, but analysts worry that there could be many more.

There are thousands of displaced people living in Syria Kurdistan in the north and northeast and with the closure last month of the border crossing with the Kurdistan Region over coronavirus concerns it is difficult for supplies to get through to those who need them.

Moreover there are thousands of IS detainees in over crowded prisons there. On March 29, militants at one prison attempted a breakout.

Authorities worry that if the virus takes hold in the area that it will be hard to contain.

Reporter’s code: 50101