War-battered Yemen imposes curfew amid Coronavirus outbreak, releases low-risk prisoners

In the thick of a global Coronavirus outbreak, authorities in war-torn Yemen imposed a curfew on major cities with the aim to step up its fight. The move came after parts of Yemen started releasing low-risk prisoners.

The government official of Yemen said that the country was forced to impose a curfew as people disregarded the appeals to isolate and maintain social distancing. Yemen has not recorded a single case of Coronavirus yet, however, the release to prisoners was a preventive measure. 

Yemeni officials said that the release of inmates would ease prisons and curb the spread of the disease. As per Arab News, Yemen has shut down its borders, airports, schools and even mosques. Despite imposing an overnight curfew, reportedly markets and shops in some parts of Yemen remained bustling with crowds. Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed no cases of Coronavirus in the war-torn country, the global health body noted that diseases like cholera, dengue, malaria, and poor sanitation are rife in Yemen. 

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Coronavirus in Syria

Another war-torn nation of the Arab world, Syria, reported its first Coronavirus-related death on March 29, The Syrian government notified that an infected person died in the hospital soon after her arrival. In addition to the first death, Damascus even apprised about four new cases in the country.

The Syrian Health Ministry declared that a woman who had contracted COVID-19 died after she was hospitalised, as per the reports of state news media SANA. Even as Syria's Health Ministry confirmed 10 positive cases of Coronavirus, including one death, experts and doctors believe that the statistics could be must higher than revealed.

Despite downplaying the issue, the Bashar-al Assad-led Syria government, following the suit of other Middle Eastern countries banned all movements between provinces until April 16 on Sunday. It further imposed a lockdown and harsh measures, including a night curfew on Wednesday. The curfew necessitates shops to be shut from 6 PM to 6 AM and bans trade activities. 

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