FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Deaths of people with coronavirus symptoms spike in Yemen; hospitals shut down

Deaths of people with coronavirus symptoms spike in Yemen; hospitals shut down

CAIRO - The number of people dying with covid-19 symptoms has dramatically spiked in war-riven Yemen, triggering fears that coronavirus infections are considerably higher than official figures, the Save the Children charity said Thursday.

At least 385 people have died over the past week with covid-19 symptoms in the southern port city of Aden, the group said, citing Yemeni officials. 

As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in Aden of covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, was 41, with five deaths, according to official figures. Nationwide, the World Health Organization says there are 72 confirmed cases, with 13 deaths.

The discrepancy in numbers is due at least in part to the dire lack of testing for the virus available in Yemen, the Arab world's poorest country. Kits are running out after 803 tests have been conducted, said Erin Taylor, a Save the Children spokesperson. 

In northern areas of the country, controlled by Houthi rebels, several of cases have been reported, but the lack of testing means the number of infected there is suspected to be higher, Taylor said.

In Aden, health workers are afraid to go to hospitals due to the lack of protective equipment, and they cannot participate in the necessary referrals or test patients who have covid-19 symptoms. Over the past week, hundreds of patients have died after showing symptoms such as respiratory difficulties and fever. Several hospitals have shuttered.

"Covid-19 is pushing this country even further into the abyss," Xavier Joubert, Yemen director for Save the Children, said in a statement. "The surging deaths in Aden suggest that the virus is spreading far faster and further than the number of confirmed cases. Hospitals are closing down and patients [are] being turned away or left to die."

For more than five years, Yemen has been gripped by a conflict between the Iran-aligned Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is backed by a United States-supported Saudi-led coalition of regional countries. Despite several attempts at a cease-fire, the fighting continued, even as the coronavirus outbreak emerged.

The war has deepened a humanitarian crisis that is considered the world's most severe. About 24 million people, or 80% of the population, rely on aid, and millions are on the edge of starvation, their immune systems weakened. 

Yemen's health infrastructure has been battered by the conflict, with hospitals and clinics targeted by airstrikes and shelling. Half the nation's health facilities are operational. There are 500 ventilators in the country, and four labs can test for covid-19, according to Save the Children.

The number of Yemenis possibly infected by the coronavirus is expected to rise as facilities to treat them shrink. The two main public hospitals in Aden remain open but are only offering emergency services, treating patients with fever but not those showing respiratory symptoms, said Save the Children.

Most of Aden's private hospitals have closed or are only treating chronic cases that do not include respiratory symptoms or fever, said the group.

"Our teams on the ground are seeing how people are being sent away from hospitals, breathing heavily or even collapsing," Mohammed Alshamaa, Save the Children's director of programs in Yemen, said in a statement. "We're hearing of families who have lost two or three loved ones in the past few weeks."

 

RELATED
nationthailand