ANKARA, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The huge Syrian community living for years in Turkey is going through a difficult time during the COVID-19 outbreak which exacerbates their already challenging living conditions, experts said.

The over 4 million refugees in Turkey, some 3.6 million from Syria, make the country home to the world's largest refugee population.

Turkish government has announced daily figures on the coronavirus outbreak, but didn't specifically mention any data on refugees, particularly the Syrians who scattered across Turkish cities.

Some local governments in southeastern Turkey, close to the Syrian border where many Syrians live, have announced some cases of the refugee community but lack consistent data.

"Coronavirus certainly didn't spare Syrians, but the government hasn't run any nationality breakdown of infected patients, citing entitlement to equal medical treatment," Omar Kadkoy, policy analyst at the Ankara-based Economic Policy Research Foundation (TEPAV), told Xinhua.

Kadkoy, a scholar and a Syrian immigrant himself, explained that some Syrians and other asylum seekers hesitate to go to the hospitals when they have developed COVID-19 symptoms, due to misinformation, lack of identifications and language barrier.

"All of these reasons could facilitate the spread of the virus among refugees and worsen their living conditions," he said.

Turkey provides free COVID-19 treatment to all citizens and refugees alike. However, Syrians and other refugee communities such as Iraqis, Iranians and Afghans have had trouble to access masks provided by the Turkish state.

"We had no masks for a long time and only one person in the family could go out during the lockdown to buy food with a home-made mask," said Mohammad, a 26-year-old Syrian from Aleppo in northern Syria, told Xinhua.

Mohammad, who declined to give his surname, explained that he works for over two years as an unregistered worker in a small home utensils factory located in the Ankara suburbs. He and his younger brother are the breadwinners in the family.

"Economically, being a Syrian was already difficult before the virus because of problems to find jobs. Now it is harder because workshops and business owners are preparing to lay off people due to the lack of demand," he said.

He explained that he had been sent for unpaid leave for three months before being recalled to the workplace.

"Informal employment is associated with great risks," remarked Kadkoy, indicating that the pandemic has impacted both Turkish and Syrians workers, but the effect on Syrians is crueler.

"The number of Syrians on unpaid leave is three times higher than Turks, and the number of Syrians who lost their jobs is four times higher than Turks," he pointed out, citing a survey conducted by TEPAV on over 3,000 people.

Turkish state agencies and some local municipalities have launched initiatives during the pandemic to support refugees. A vast majority of Syrians are under Turkey's temporary protection program.

Nevertheless, many refugees have lost their jobs in the service industry such as in cafes and restaurants, where asylum seekers are often employed. Enditem

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