DUBAI: Local officials in Yemen have reported new cases of the coronavirus in their jurisdictions amid concerns the ongoing conflict in the country is setting the stage for a public health disaster.
In Almaharah governorate, 12 new coronavirus infections were reported on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases there to 15.
In the southwestern city of Taiz, the national Supreme Committee on Coronavirus confirmed 31 new cases, raising the confirmed toll to 191 there.
“Fifty-four cases were examined and 31 of them have tested positive,” committee spokesman Ahmed Mansour said, state news agency Saba News said.
He said that eight of the patients have died which raises coronavirus fatalities to “42 cases” so far. “The cases that ended in recovery are sixteen.”
Taiz has been subject of a six-year siege and non-stop invasion attempts by the Iran-backed Houthi militants, which devastated the city’s health system.