Oxfam expresses concern over Yemen virus

Aid agencies are warning that coronavirus could be spreading at a higher-than believed rate in areas of war-torn Yemen, already devastated by famine and fighting.

Samah Hadid, director of advocacy media and communications, Oxfam Yemen, said on Friday that the current scenario in the country was "quite dire," despite the total government tallies of fewer than 100 cases throughout the country.

"There are reports suggesting that the number of cases of coronavirus in Yemen is actually larger than what is being reported," she said, particularly in the southern city of Aden.

Another aid agency, Save the Children suggested in a statement on Thursday that some of the deaths in the unusual surge in fatalities could be from COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus.

It said many Aden hospitals and clinics have closed and in those still open, some staff refuse to work because of severe shortages of protective equipment.

Aden and its surroundings have recently been hit by torrential rains, becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes that carry dengue and chikungunya, which can cause fevers and respiratory symptoms similar to COVID-19.

Yemen has so far reported 86 cases of the virus, including 13 deaths. The internationally recognized government and WHO have criticized the rebels for their lack of transparency, as just two cases, including one death, have been recorded in territory under their control.

With the drastic spike in cases over the last 10 days across far-flung provinces, Ramesh Rajasingham, the U.N.'s acting assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned yesterday that community transmission has taken off.

The U.N. has described Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian disaster. Cholera outbreaks are the worst in modern history. Over 24 million people in the country require humanitarian assistance, many of them on the brink of starvation.