Yemen government denies it failed to report virus cases

The Minister of Health for Yemen's Houthi Rebels on Saturday denied that authorities have failed to report the actual number of coronavirus cases.

Dr. Taha al Mutwakil said the government had been transparent about the number of confirmed cases and those who have recovered.

He claimed that the recovery rate for coronavirus patients is "high" at 80 percent.

The rebels have officially reported just four cases, including one fatality, raising questions about reports of an unaccounted-for surge in deaths there.

The World Health Organization has warned the Houthis that full transparency is needed to fight the virus' spread.

On Thursday, Yemen's Houthi rebels acknowledged for the first time that the coronavirus has spread to multiple governorates under their control.

The Houthi Health Ministry buried the admission in a muted statement, saying only that authorities are working to trace and isolate infected cases that have been recorded in the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces across the war-torn country.

The statement accused the World Health Organization of sending "inaccurate" and deficient tests.

Yemen's internationally recognised government, based in the south, has reported 278 cases and 58 deaths. A major outbreak is threatening to overwhelm the country's health system, devastated by five years of brutal war.

Yemen's war erupted in 2014, when the rebels seized Sanaa, and much of the country's north.

The US-backed, Saudi-led coalition intervened to oust the rebels and restore the internationally recognised government.

The conflict has killed over 100,000 people and largely settled into a bloody stalemate.