Hospitals should prepare for a possible second wave of coronavirus and take steps to prevent its spread, health authorities in the government-controlled part of Yemen said on Wednesday.
Testing and reporting are limited in the country, but the number of confirmed cases increased in the past 10 days, having levelled off in September to a couple of new cases a day.
Eleven new infections were reported on Monday and Tuesday by the Supreme National Emergency Committee for Covid-19 on behalf of the internationally recognised government.
Yemen is divided between the government temporarily based in the south and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who ousted it from power in the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.
A military coalition led by Saudi Arabia intervened in early 2015 to return the government to power.
Yemen’s government has so far reported 2,187 Covid-19 infections and 620 deaths.
The Houthis, who control most large urban centres, have not provided figures since May when the group said there were four cases and one death.
These figures vastly underestimated the spread of the virus, said the UN and aid agencies, which have been preparing for several months to tackle a possible second wave of cases during winter.
The Health Ministry urged hospitals and medical centres to impose preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus, from isolating suspected cases and reporting confirmed infections, to opening epidemiological investigations and evaluating isolation centres, labs and PCR testing centres, the supreme committee said.
Last year, the UN gave a warning that the spread of Covid-19 would be a catastrophe for Yemen, which is teetering on the brink of famine, with poor water supplies and high rates of malnutrition and diseases such as cholera and dengue.
Yemeni authorities expect to receive the first batch of 2.3 million vaccine doses by March through the UN's Covax initiative as part of its application for 14 million doses, sufficient for 23 per cent of the population.
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A merchant of "janbiyas", Yemeni short curved daggers, displays his merchandise in Yemen's capital Sanaa on May 20, 2020, as Muslims shop ahead of the Eid Al Fitr holiday amidst a coronavirus outbreak. AFP -
A child wearing a protective face mask as she walks through a market in Sanaa, Yemen on May 20, 2020. EPA -
A man wears a protective face mask outside a shop amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus, in Sanaa, Yemen on May 13, 2020. Reuters -
A hairdresser wearing a protective suit gives a customer a haircut at a barber shop ahead of Eid Al Fitr, in Sanaa, Yemen, May 18, 2020. EPA -
A vendor wearing a protective face mask waits for customers ahead Eid Al Fitr, in Sanaa, Yemen, May 20, 2020. EPA -
A customer wearing protective gloves buys sterilizing gel through a plastic shield installed as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus at a pharmacy in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 19, 2020. EPA -
A pharmacist wearing a protective face mask serves his customers behind a plastic shield installed as a precautionary measure against the spread of the coronavirus in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 19, 2020. EPA -
Yemenis shop for the Muslim festival of Eid Al Fitr, at a market in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 20, 2020. EPA
