First coronavirus death in northern Syria's Kurdish area: UN

A man in his fifties has become the first person to die from the novel coronavirus outbreak in the Kurdish-dominated northern part of war-torn Syria, UN officials have said.

The administration of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region accused the World Health Organization of not having immediately informed its officials, saying the UN agency and the Syrian authorities would be to blame for the spread of the virus.

The UN humanitarian agency OCHA said it received notice on Thursday of the death from WHO, which was not immediately available for comment.

The WHO "provided information indicating that a fatality at Qamishli National Hospital in northeast Syria on 2 April had subsequently tested positive for COVID-19," OCHA said on a Twitter post on Friday.

The dead man was said to be 53 years old.

"Another family member is currently reportedly also in hospital with symptoms of COVID-19 with test results pending," it said. "Active surveillance is ongoing in NES (Northeast Syria) to detect additional potential cases."