Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The Middle East is said to be at the critical threshold. This is what the Head of WHO is talking about at Middle East, Ahmed al-Mandhari, in an online press conference.
According to him, the region was at a decisive moment in the “war” against Corona (Covid-19). Where, the surge in cases continues to occur in recent weeks.
“We are at a critical threshold in our region,” he said, quoted by CNA, Thursday (07/02/2020).
According to WHO, since Wednesday, 22 countries from Morocco to Pakistan have recorded 1,077,706 new cases of corona virus and 24,973 deaths. He called this ‘history’ and asked countries to strengthen the health care system.
“The number of cases reported in June alone was higher than the total number of cases reported during the four months after the first reported case in the region on January 29,” he explained.
According to him, this could be due to increased testing. But it could be due to easing lockdown and also weak health infrastructure systems.
More than 80% of all deaths in the region are reported in five countries. Namely Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
The West Bank has also been hit by a sharp spike in infections, where the Palestinian Authority announced Wednesday lockdown five days throughout the region. The total confirmed corona virus infection in the region more than doubled in a week to 2,636 after easing previous restrictions.
