[4] Syria is considered especially vulnerable to the pandemic due to the ongoing civil war and dire humanitarian situation.

[5][6] On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.

[7][8] Many people in Syria did not have confidence in the government's transparency during the pandemic, accusing it of hiding the true numbers of cases and deaths,[9][10][11][12] especially in Damascus, Rif Dimashq, and Aleppo.

[18] Which led to people who are experiencing some symptoms or even being sure about being infected not telling the government nor seeking governmental or even private medical care, and quarantining themselves at home as possible out of fear.

[20][21] The Syrian government along with its allies claims that the ongoing civil war, combined with the economic situation in Syria and sanctions by western governments, limit the capacity in which adequate COVID-19 PCR tests can be conducted and prevent vital supplies for treating and managing the pandemic from being imported.

2 March: The government of the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, ordered the complete closure of the Semalka Border Crossing at the Iraq–Syria border into the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria until further notice as "a precautionary measure to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus to the areas of autonomous administration of North and East Syria, excluding emergency cases".

[25] 10 March: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that there have been outbreaks of COVID-19 in Tartus, Damascus, Homs and Latakia provinces.

[26] 11 March: A health official from the Jazira Region in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said that there are no documented cases of COVID-19 in the province.

The Cabinet also decided to cancel the export of all the medical requirements and equipment for diagnosis and quarantine centers.

Restaurants, cafes, commercial centers, bazaars, public parks, private medical clinics, wedding halls and mourning tents are to be closed while hospitals, public and private health centers, international organizations, the Red Cross and Crescent, pharmacies, sterilization committees, cleaners, bakeries, food stores, food and baby milk trucks and fuel tanks were excluded from the ban.

[49] 1 April: The Minister of Health said that authorities imposed a lockdown on Mneen town in Rif Dimashq Governorate to preserve public safety after the death of a woman from there because of COVID-19.

[75] 14 May: The Syrian government's team tasked with taking measures to confront The Coronavirus indicated that it is possible to impose a full 24-hours-a-day curfew depending to the changes related to the virus.

[81] 20 May: 22 May: 23 May: 24 May: 25 May: 26 May: The Ministry of Health announced 15 new cases among Syrian arrivals from outside the country; 9 from Kuwait, 5 from Sudan, and one from the UAE.

[105] 9 June: The Ministry of Health announced 2 new cases among people who had been in contact with the infected persons in Ras al-Ma'ara town.

The Ministry also announced 6 new cases among people who had been in contact with the infected persons in Ras al-Ma'ara town.

[107] 11 June: The Ministry of Health announced 12 new cases among people who had been in contact with the infected persons in Ras al-Ma'ara town.

[117] 18 June: The Ministry of Health announced 9 new cases of COVID-19 in Quneitra Governorate of people who had contact with the woman that died the day before.

The ministry said that most of them showed no symptoms and that all of them were put in proper isolation facilities to receive medical care.

[123] Local news networks said that among the new COVID-19 cases is the head of the pulmonology clinics department in Al-Mujtahid hospital in Damascus and that she was put in isolation after being tested positive.

[150] 11 July: Tishreen university announced that one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19, and that she was put in quarantine as well as the people that contacted with her.

[187] 13 August: The Ministry of Health announced 105 new cases (Highest single-day number reported), 10 recoveries, and two deaths.

[243] On 22 April, more than 256,800 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Syria under the United Nations COVAX program.

[253] Many local news networks and organizations said that hospitals are even refusing to admit patients with mild symptoms, and only accept those who need critical and intensive care.

[255] The Syrian government claims that the ongoing civil war, combined with the economic situation in Syria and sanctions by western governments, limit the capacity in which adequate COVID-19 PCR tests can be conducted and prevent vital supplies for treating and managing the pandemic from being imported.

[22][23] Health care professionals claimed the country was overwhelmed by cases and that the government had engaged in an intimidation campaign to suppress information of the outbreak.

[256][12] According to Human Rights Watch, the Syrian government failed to protect health workers at the front line of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the government-held territory.

WHO has provided the Syrian government with 4.4 million items of PPE, including medical and respirator masks, gloves.

[257] According to the Syrian Ministry of Health per its final update on 26 August 2023, there were 9 labs that are able to test for the coronavirus located in eight governorates.

[1] According to the Syrian Ministry of Health per its final update on 26 August 2023. there were 151 Treatment centers dedicated for COVID-19 patients located in 12 governorates:[1] - 33 in Homs.

- 22 in Damascus - 12 in Rif Dimashq - 11 in Hama - 7 in As-Suwayda - 5 in Hasaka - 5 in Tartus - 2 in Daraa - 1 in Quneitra - 1 in Deir ez-Zor According to the state media organization SANA, the Ministry of Health started quarantining suspected cases and people coming from outside the country in free-of-charge dedicated quarantine facilities from 5 February 2020.