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Russian ambassador points to Yemen’s steps to prevent coronavirus spread

Only one coronavirus case has so far been registered in Yemen, which may be due to the lack of tests, according to the envoy

MOSCOW, April 23. /TASS/. Yemen’s authorities have asked the international community, including Russia, for assistance in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, Russian Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin told TASS on Thursday.

"Yemen is making serious preparations to combat a possible outbreak," he said, commenting on the country’s request for assistance. "The authorities are taking preventing measures so that they have the necessary resources to combat the pandemic in the future," the envoy added.

According to Dedushkin, the country currently lacks "testing systems, which is why the number is incorrect." "Only one coronavirus case has so far been confirmed in Yemen. The government is making preparations for a possible outbreak. In particular, they are stocking up on medicines and equipment and setting up hospital beds," he specified.

United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Lise Grande said earlier that if the coronavirus spread in the country after years of war, the consequences would be catastrophic.

The war between the internationally-recognized Yemeni government and Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement has been raging since August 2014. The conflict entered an active phase when a Saudi-led coalition invaded the country. Saudi Arabia, supported by Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, is involved in a military operation against the rebels. Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan are also part of the coalition.

Coronavirus pandemic

In late December 2019, Chinese officials notified the World Health Organization (WHO) about the outbreak of a previously unknown pneumonia in the city of Wuhan, in central China. Since then, cases of the novel coronavirus — named COVID-19 by the WHO — have been reported in every corner of the globe, including Russia.

On March 11, 2020, the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to the latest statistics, over 2,600,000 people have been infected worldwide and more than 184,000 deaths have been reported. In addition, so far, over 723,000 individuals have recovered from the illness across the globe.