The coronavirus is “widely spreading” in Yemen while cases are not being detected by the official authorities, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned yesterday.

“The coronavirus in Yemen could be contained if the confirmed cases were properly looked at, tested and treated,” the executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, Michael Ryan disclosed.

“WHO believes that the virus was spreading at a community level,” Ryan added, noting that the latter would require “hard work to provide the necessary health services for all the Yemeni people.”

As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases throughout Yemen has increased to 26, six of whom have died.

The internationally-recognised Yemeni government accuses the Houthi group of: “Disguising new detected cases in the areas it controls, including Sanaa and Ibb.”

The coronavirus has so far infected a total of 3,930,784 people globally; 270,880 of whom have died, and 1,348,488 others have recovered. The WHO has declared the virus a pandemic.