Yemen reported its first case of coronavirus yesterday in a southern government-controlled province, raising fears of an outbreak in the war-torn country as air strikes blamed on the  coalition tested a unilateral truce.
The announcement came on the second day of the two-week ceasefire declared by the military coalition supporting the government in what it said was a move to help fight the pandemic.“The first confirmed case of coronavirus has been reported in Hadhramout province,” Yemen’s supreme national emergency committee for Covid-19 said on Twitter.
The committee, run by the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, said the infected patient was in stable condition and receiving care.
“The case is in isolation and treatment, all known contacts are being traced and quarantined,” the World Health Organisation said on Twitter.
“WHO is working closely with (the health ministry) to ensure further rapid containment measures are taken.” Aid groups have warned that when the coronavirus hits Yemen’s broken healthcare system, the impact is likely to be catastrophic for a country already in the grip of what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
“What’s facing Yemen is frightening,” said Lise Grande, the UN co-ordinator for Yemen.
“More people who become infected are likely to become severely ill than anywhere else.”
Yemen is “critically under-equipped” to face the pandemic, said Xavier Joubert, country director for Save the Children in Yemen. “Only half of Yemen’s health facilities are still fully functional,” said Joubert. “There are 700 intensive care unit beds, including 60 for children, and 500 ventilators for a population of about 30mn.”
Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed over the past five years in the war between the coalition and the Houthi rebels, who control large parts of Yemen including the capital Sanaa.
Millions have also been displaced and diseases including cholera are widespread due to the scarcity of clean water.
Grande renewed the UN’s plea to Yemen’s warring parties to “stop fighting each other and start fighting (the virus) together”. But Yemeni pro-government forces and Houthi rebels reported several air raids in the northern districts of Al-Jawf and Hajjah despite the coalition’s unilateral ceasefire which began on Thursday. The coalition raids “targeted Houthi vehicles after they rejected the ceasefire and were attempting to attack government positions”, a pro-government source said. The source also reported ongoing clashes between pro-government loyalists and the rebels in Al-Jawf and the Marib, northern regions which have seen intense fighting since the beginning of the year.
The military alliance said its ceasefire was aimed at helping efforts to prevent a Covid-19 outbreak in Yemen. The move was welcomed by the United States but dismissed by the Houthi rebels, who charged that the continued coalition air strikes showed the announcement was a public relations stunt.
“We consider the ceasefire a political and media manoeuvre,” Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdelsalam told Al Jazeera news network. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly appealed for ceasefires in conflicts around the world to facilitate the battle against the coronavirus.
The UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths said last week he was engaged in talks to secure a nationwide ceasefire. Griffiths said he was in regular contact with both sides “on reaching agreements on a nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic measures to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people”.
“This process further aims to foster joint efforts to counter the threat of Covid-19,” he said.
Despite two decades of air and drone strikes by the United States, Yemen also still hosts a significant militant presence, with a longstanding Al Qaeda network challenged in recent years by militants loyal to the Islamic State group.
Control of Hadhramout province, where the first coronavirus case was reported, has long been divided. Coalition-backed government forces control the coastal towns but parts of the interior remain in the hands of Al Qaeda.