Covid-19 quietly sweeps across Yemen
The authorities either cannot test for the virus—or do not want to
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THERE ARE no daily news conferences about covid-19 in Yemen, no charts or maps or deluge of data. There are barely any tests. But there are bodies. Silently but steadily the virus has taken root in the Arab world’s poorest country. Its spread can be glimpsed in anecdotes from doctors and snippets on social media. In one city aid agencies say gravediggers work overtime to keep up with the dead, most of them middle-aged men. In another city doctors who talk about the pandemic are threatened with arrest or worse.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline "The invisible outbreak"
Middle East & Africa June 6th 2020
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