After nine years of a deadly civil war, the health system in Syria is barely functional. In territories controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, authorities deny the presence of COVID-19. According to Johns Hopkins University, the country has confirmed 439 cases and 21 deaths as of July 15. But narratives on the ground reveal the ways in which the state has denied and repressed the realities of COVID-19. Walid Abdullah, 23, says the state has even gone so far as to suggest terminating the lives of suspected COVID-19 patients. Global Voices is using a pseudonym upon request to protect his identity. Speaking to Global Voices by phone, Abdullah explained that on May 13, he called Daraa National Hospital, in southern Syria, to inform them about a suspected case of coronavirus. When he asked what steps should be taken, the government hospital employee who answered the phone said: “Shoot him — we have no cure for him,” according to Abdullah. He quickly ended the call. Obviously, the idea of shooting a suspected COVID-19 patient was out of the question. “Death by COVID-19 is more honorable than to set foot in any public hospital,” Abdullah told Global Voices. This harrowing testimony is corroborated by other sources. In a March 10 report published in The Voice of the Capital, an independent Syrian newspaper, medical personnel from the Syrian Ministry of Health claimed that “deliberate termination operations are taking place at the al-Mujtahid government hospital in the capital, Damascus, for those who are believed to be carrying the virus, through giving them additional doses of the drug [anesthetic].” This claim also appeared on social media: معلومات أنه في سوريا يتم تصفيه مرضى كورونا في مشفى المجتهد بعد ساعات من تشخيص المرض… — Qهارون (@Q56048602) March 11, 2020 Information that in Syria, coronavirus patients are terminated at al-Mujtahid hospital hours after the disease was diagnosed … Another person from al-Mouwasat Hospital in Damascus was also quoted in the same article confirming this claim: “These terminations are conducted in complete secrecy and are carried out by doctors dedicated to following up on cases of suspected virus infection.” The Assad regime's desperate approach to dealing with COVID-19 parallels callous strategies used in Assad’s war, which left 586,100 people dead, nearly 100,000 detained and forcibly disappeared, and 5.6 million refugees around the world. Pro-Assad media institutions reflected the same mentality in their coronavirus coverage. At the onset of the outbreak, Firas al-Ahmad, a reporter at the state-run TV station, Syrian News channel (al-Ikhbariyah Syria) published a threatening post on his personal Facebook page to target those who defy the quarantine: A now-deleted Facebook post by Firas al-Ahmad reads: “Now what do you think [of this idea]? Do we need to post snipers to force people to stay in their homes? Understand people, understand!” “وهلأ شو رأيكن بالحكي ضروري ننصب قناصات لتنضب الناس ببيوتا، لك افهمو يا ناس افهمو” في تهديد مباشر منه للناس للالتزام بمنازلهم بالقوة.” “Now what do you think [of this idea]? Do we need to post snipers to force people to stay in their homes? Understand people, understand!” The post was later deleted, but a screenshot remained as evidence. The Assad regime owes its survival to its key allies, including Iran. With few allies in the region, Iran has leaned on Syria as well. In February, Iran became one of the world's most COVID-19 affected countries and is a likely source of infection in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, where Iranian troops have had physical contact through military cooperation. Additionally, Iranian pilgrims and religious tourists, continued to visit Damascus-based shrines up until the first week of March, as reported by Zaki Mehchy, co-author of a March study published by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). However, the Assad regime has pursued a policy of misinformation, prevarication and denial in terms of the number of COVID-19 casualties. In a March 13 interview with the official Syrian News Channel, Minister of Health Nizar Al-Yaziji insisted on denying the existence of any COVID-19 cases in Syria, saying: “Thank God that the Syrian Arab Army has cleansed the Syrian soil from many germs:” The Syrian Ministry of Health did not announce its first case of COVID-19 until March 22, causing resentment and anger among Syrians who noted that the Assad regime lied and pursued a policy of denial. In an article published on an independent Syria 24 news site in response to Yaziji’s claims, one citizen poignantly asked, “didn’t you say in your statement that all germs have been eliminated?” However, the regime has continued to report implausibly low numbers.