One gravedigger in Aden told AP he’d never seen such a constant flow of dead – even in a city that has seen multiple bouts of bloody street battles during the civil war
Officially, the number of coronavirus virus cases in Yemen is low – 106 infections in the southern region, with 15 deaths. Authorities in the Houthi rebel-controlled north announced their first case on May 5 and say there has been only two infection, one of whom died, a Somali migrant.
WHO says its models suggest that, under some scenarios, half of Yemen’s population of 30 million could be infected and more than 40,000 could die. Health personnel, with little protective equipment, are terrified of treating anyone suspected of having the coronavirus. In the north, meanwhile, the Houthi rebels in power there are waging a campaign to aggressively suppress any information about the scale of the outbreak, even as doctors told the AP of increasing infections and deaths.
Both local health ministry and international aid officials have been warned not to discuss cases or of possible local transmission of the virus, since the rebels insist the north’s few cases came from abroad, according to two officials with knowledge of the discussions. In Houthi-controlled Ibb province, a local official said at least 17 people had died. “The situation is very dangerous and out of control,” he said. A doctor in Ibb said tests are sent to Sanaa but results are never revealed, adding, “There are cases, but I’m not allowed to speak.”
Health authorities were split between two camps––those loyal to the internationally-recognized government and those who answer to a group that split off last year––so employees have no clue who to report to, and no one is sure who is making decisions.
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