COVID-19 May Be ’Catastrophic’ For Yemen: WHO

By Staff, Anadolu Agency

If allowed to spread within the war-torn country, the novel coronavirus threatens to become a "catastrophic" disaster in Yemen, according to an official with the World Health Organization [WHO].

"The health system here is already fragile. Should the virus become fully transmissible in Yemen, it will be catastrophic in the country," Altaf Musani, the WHO Representative and mission chief in Yemen, told Anadolu news agency.

Noting that though the country's health system was starting efforts to prepare for a response to the pandemic, Musani warned that it would never be fully prepared as it had experienced conflict within its borders for the past five years.

"This health system will never be fully prepared, because we've had five years of war, and that conflict, that vulnerability, and that fragility has really weakened the health system to deal with routine health matters such as cholera, dengue and malaria."

Musani said he was "deeply worried" should the country find itself facing coronavirus cases, since the health system would "not be able to manage" the outbreak.

Earlier this week, the Yemeni authorities have confirmed eight COVID-19 death cases and 51 cases in areas under its control. Half of the fatalities and 35 infections were reported in the temporary capital city of Aden alone.

Although the first infection case was declared on April 10 in the southern Hadramaut province of Yemen, Musani said the particular patient has recovered -- which was announced on April 13 by the government -- but noted that there have been subsequent additional five cases declared in Aden.