Yemen Reports 30 New COVID-19 Cases

 A man lies on a bed at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quarantine center in Aden, Yemen March 27, 2021. Picture taken March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
A man lies on a bed at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quarantine center in Aden, Yemen March 27, 2021. Picture taken March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
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Yemen Reports 30 New COVID-19 Cases

 A man lies on a bed at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quarantine center in Aden, Yemen March 27, 2021. Picture taken March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman
A man lies on a bed at a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) quarantine center in Aden, Yemen March 27, 2021. Picture taken March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman

Yemen witnessed Monday a slight surge in coronavirus-related deaths and infections as the war-torn country begins to contain the third wave of the outbreak that started three months ago.

On Monday, the Aden-based National Emergency Committee for COVID-19 reported 30 infections and three deaths in seven governorates.

The number of confirmed infections in areas controlled by the internationally recognized government in south and east Yemen reached 9,556 with 6,084 recoveries and 1,665 active cases since the first COVID-19 case was reported in April 2020. The total death toll also rose to 1,807.

However, officials believe that the true number of coronavirus cases is much higher than the recorded, as the country suffers from limited testing capacity and difficulty of accessing treatment centers.

Also, most cases do not go to hospitals due to poverty and lack of confidence in the health sector.

The Houthi group, which controls Sanaa and some cities in the north and west of the country, does not report COVID infections and deaths.

The group only announced three infections and one death since the pandemic outbreak was announced in Yemen in April 2020.

More than six and a half years of war has undermined the health system in Yemen, which the United Nations says is already suffering from one of the world's worst health crises.



Israeli Strike Wounds a Hospital Chief in Besieged Northern Gaza, Health Officials Say

A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Israeli Strike Wounds a Hospital Chief in Besieged Northern Gaza, Health Officials Say

A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
A Palestinian man gestures toward ambulances transporting victims of Israeli bombing to the Kamal Adwan hospital in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 23, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

An Israeli strike has wounded the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few hospitals still partially operating in the northernmost part of Gaza, local and international health officials said.

Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya was in his office when it was hit by an Israeli quadcopter drone on Sunday, according to the humanitarian organization MedGlobal.

The doctor was wounded by shrapnel in his thigh and back, causing serious bleeding that requires surgical care, the aid group said. Abu Safiya is the lead physician in Gaza for MedGlobal, which has worked in Gaza since 2018.

Dr. Munir al-Boursh, director general of Gaza's Health Ministry, posted a video to social media on Monday showing Abu Safiya limping and leaning on a crutch while speaking to patients inside the hospital.

The Israeli military said it was unaware of a strike on the grounds of Kamal Adwan Hospital and said it does its utmost to avoid harming civilians.

During the past month, Kamal Adwan Hospital has been hit several times, was put under siege and was raided by Israeli troops, who are waging a heavy offensive in the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp and towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahiya. The Israeli military says it detained Hamas fighters hiding in the hospital, a claim its staff denies.

Abu Safiya said Israeli strikes on the hospital last week wounded nine medical staff and damaged the generator and oxygen systems. He said the hospital was treating 85 wounded, 14 children in the pediatric ward and four newborns in the neonatal unit.

Israel also denied knowledge of conducting any strikes on in the area of the hospital at that time.