WHO: Middle East Still Has Chance to Scale up Coronavirus Response

Most Middle Eastern countries are seeing worrying daily increases in cases of the new coronavirus but the region still has a chance to contain its spread, Rueters quoted a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official saying on Tuesday.

“We really do need a comprehensive approach to the way we scale up the proven public health measures such as the early detection, such as the early testing, the isolation of patients who have the disease,” said Richard Brennan, the WHO’s regional emergency director.

Gwi Yeop Son, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, said in a statement, “If not properly coordinated, aid delivery may be delayed or fail to go ahead as a consequence of COVID-19.”

According to Reuters, the WHO has confirmed more than 77,000 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths in its Eastern Mediterranean region, which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Djibouti, as well as Middle Eastern states, but does not include Turkey.

Many countries in the region are suffering from the effects of conflict and political crises, raising concerns about their ability to cope with the new coronavirus.

International agencies have raised particular concern over millions of refugees and internally displaced people, and have cautioned that the closure of borders can make the delivery of assistance harder.