Minister of Health Wael al-Halqi dismissed what some satellite channels reported on deaths of newborn babies at newborn nurseries in the hospitals of Hama province due to power outage and lack of electric generators caused by shortage of diesel supply. Minister Halqi said in a statement to SANA that electric supply is on around the clock at all the public and private hospitals in the province, dismissing the media reports on newborn deaths as baseless, and stressing that electric generators are completely prepared and fully geared up. The Minister added that 40 private and 6 public hospitals are continually providing medical services for citizens, pointing out that a strategic stockpile of drugs and medical materials is available at all the public hospitals that are enough to perform more than 5000 surgical operations, in addition to the stockpile for emergency cases.