July 29, 2020

Andrew Campbell 

For years, fighting between the Government and Houthi rebels continue and result in a humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Once again, UN officials urged the Security Council on July 28 to negotiate an immediate ceasefire. They feared thousands of people in Yemen, with conflict escalating, famine on the horizon, the economy in shatter, and hidden threats from Cholera outbreak, would fail to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on July 28, the total number of COVID-19 cases confirmed in Yemen is 1,695 with 484 deaths from the Government controlled area. Officials fear the real number should be much higher because the data from the Houthi-controlled area was unclear.

As people are too frightened to seek treatment for fear of the COVID-19 virus, WHO officials worried thousands of people in Yemen could be dying from undetected cases of cholera. Thus, the number of Coronavirus infection cases in Yemen is likely to peak in the coming August while the heaviest rains are expected to deepen the hidden cholera crisis.

In addition, officials called for more funding for aid operations in Yemen to keep communities surviving a horrific catastrophe as both cholera and COVID could peak in the coming weeks.