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Yemen has recorded the first two deaths related to the new coronavirus, raising fears of an epidemic in the already war-torn state. These are two brothers who died in a hospital in the port city of Aden, writes the BBC.
Yemeni officials have confirmed the occurrence of five cases of COVID-19 in Aden. Previously, there was only one case at the national level.
The UN warned that there is a “high probability” that the virus will circulate undetected in communities. Yemen confirmed the first COVID-19 case four weeks ago in al-Shihr city. The 5 infections discovered Wednesday in Aden are 540 kilometers away.
The civil war in Yemen, which has been going on for the past 5 years, has killed more than 100,000 people and has triggered what is considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. About 10 million people in Yemen are on the verge of starvation, 20 million do not have access to health services, and hospitals that are still operating are not prepared to face an epidemic.
A 2019 UN report, cited by Al Jazeera, said that if the war continues, Yemen could become the world’s poorest country by 2022, with 79% of the population living below the poverty line and 65 % in extreme poverty.
Due to the war, the number of Yemeni citizens living in poverty increased to 75% at the end of 2019, from 47% before the conflict began in 2014.
