The Iran-backed Houthi militias confirmed the first case of the new coronavirus on Tuesday, a Somali national found dead in a Sanaa hotel, while the legitimate government in the South reported nine new infections.
One of the last countries to declare COVID-19 infections on April 10, Yemen has now reported 21 cases, including three deaths, in territory held by the legitimate government, and one case, a death, in areas under the Houthis.
“We received a report about a situation in a hotel (in the capital Sanaa) on Sunday and epidemiological investigation teams went there immediately, where the affected person had died,” the Houthis’ health minister Taha al-Mutawakkil announced.
The deceased Somali had underlying liver and kidney problems, he said, adding that a sample had been tested in a laboratory for COVID-19 infection.
The hotel was disinfected and all those who had come in contact with the man were placed in quarantine, he said without giving further details.
Yemen has long been a transit point for migrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa, many of whom are fleeing hunger and violence.
Before the first COVID-19 case in Houthi territory was announced, the United Nations had said it feared the coronavirus could be spreading undetected across the country among an acutely malnourished population with inadequate testing capabilities and protective equipment.
On Tuesday the emergency coronavirus committee belonging to the government - temporarily based in the southern port city of Aden - said that eight new cases had been detected in Aden and another in the Hadhramout region.
The Aden-based emergency coronavirus committee had voiced concern that Houthi officials were not admitting to a coronavirus outbreak in Sanaa.
The World Health Organization has said it fears COVID-19 could rip through Yemen as the population has some of the lowest levels of immunity to disease compared with other countries.
Minimal testing capacity has added to concerns. The WHO said on Tuesday just 200 tests for infection with the coronavirus had been carried out and results received across Yemen.
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