AL-MUKALLA: Local health officials in Yemen have appealed to people to follow social-distancing rules and other precautionary advice related to COVID-19 as reports suggest the country’s death rates are falling.
Dr. Ishraq Al-Subaee, a spokesman for the Aden-based National Coronavirus Committee, said the spread of the pandemic has not slowed in Yemen despite reports of fewer COVID-19-related deaths in some areas, noting that a shortage of testing kits means the reported number of cases in Yemen is likely inaccurate.
“I have recently seen that many people have abandoned their masks and joined large gatherings. There has been great awareness since the beginning of the pandemic and I hope people will remain vigilant so as not to lose (what we have gained),” she said.
Almost all Yemeni provinces have relaxed curfews and other measures imposed following the detection of the first case of COVID-19 in the country on April 10. People are now allowed to pray in mosques, visit markets and move between cities amid reports that death rates from COVID-19 and other diseases that hit Yemeni cities in May have fallen by 50 percent.
But Al-Subaee said hospitals in government-controlled areas are still reporting fresh cases and deaths, and warned people against thinking the pandemic is over.
On Thursday, the National Coronavirus Committee announced 38 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Yemen, 10 new deaths, and 24 recoveries, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,356, including 619 deaths and 361 recoveries.
Falling cases
In Aden, the international medical NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Friday that it would be reducing its activities in the southern port city of Aden due to a decrease in the numbers of patients visiting its centers.
“In light of the continuing reduction in the number of admissions to the two MSF COVID-19 treatment centers in Aden, MSF has taken the decision to combine its activities in one facility, “ the organization said in a statement.
MSF intervened in Aden in May when the city was hit by outbreaks of COVID-19 and other diseases that claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people, according to official figures.
While the numbers in Aden are decreasing, local authorities in the southeastern province of Hadramout have reintroduced a curfew in the city of Qaten as medical centers there have reported a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in recent days.
In Al-Mukalla, Hadramout’s capital, doctors at Ibn Sina Hospital’s isolation center have gone on strike to protest their excessive workload and missed payments. Many doctors in Hadramout have refused to work in COVID-19 treatment facilities in the province, placing extra strain on the doctors on duty there.
