The United Nations has stated numerous times that the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, in the midst of a frenzied civil war, is the “worst humanitarian crisis provoked by man the world has seen”. It has been estimated that thanks to the crisis, war, and a lack of fundamental resources, around 20 million people in Yemen do not have access to healthcare. This makes the possibility of COVID-19 circling undetected through different communities a very real one.

The International Rescue Committee has called this situation a “nightmare scenario”. Only half of hospitals in Yemen are fully functional, and these are already packed with patients suffering from diseases common in the region such as cholera and malaria.

As of today, April 30th, 2020, Yemen has recorded its first two deaths linked to Coronavirus. Previously, there had been one case nationwide, then on Wednesday (April 29th) five infections were detected. The first case came approximately four weeks ago in al-Shihr, a government-controlled eastern province of Hadramawt. The five infections were discovered by a committee in Aden, reporting them as “a cluster of five infections”. The two cases that passed away were brothers who had been transferred to a private hospital in al-Mansourah; they passed away on Monday and Tuesday.

Health Minister Nasser Baoum has noted certain similarities between Covid-19 symptoms and symptoms of other contagious diseases with past major outbreaks within Yemen, including Dengue Fever. Dengue fever comes from a mosquito bite, with symptoms like high fever, muscle and joint pain, and rash.

The Southern Transitional Council (STC), one side of the raging civil war, has declared an emergency rule in the South this past Sunday. According to the UN, there are more than 3.5 million internally displaced people, asylum seekers, refugees, and more who completely rely on humanitarian aid for survival.

Numerous officials have warned the public that the number of Coronavirus cases is almost definitely going to rise in the coming weeks, devastating thousand. There were two additional sources who told Reuters news agency that there had been one more confirmed case in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital.

The United Nations has stated that those in Yemen are particularly vulnerable to the infamous virus due to how undetected it would be circling, the famine that already existed, and the absolute lack of medical care. The war has taken a toll of unprecedented magnitude open the health infrastructure.

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