Yemen Reports 1st Coronavirus Case

War-torn Yemen on Friday confirmed the first coronavirus case in the southern province under governmental authority, an official statement said.

Aid groups warned that the effect of the virus on the country's fractured healthcare system — which the UN reports are experiencing the world's greatest humanitarian disaster — will be devastating.

“The first confirmed case of coronavirus has been reported in Hadramout province,” the supreme national emergency committee for COVID-19 said on Twitter.

The Committee, headed by the globally recognised government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, confirmed that the affected patient was in good condition and provided treatment.

It has added medical teams and the authorities involved have taken on board all the required specifications, promising to publish information later on Friday.

Tens of thousands of Yemeni civilians have been killed over the past five years in a war between the Huthi rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition backing the government.

The alliance declared a temporary two-week truce on Wednesday, in particular, to deter coronavirus from entering a nation with a nearly crippled health system.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the UAE, a major coalition ally, Anwar Gargash said on Thursday that coronavirus eclipses anything.

“The COVID-19 crisis eclipses everything — the international community must step up efforts & work together to protect the Yemeni people,” he said.

Source: AFP