Yemen's health ministry on Thursday confirmed 22 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total tally of infections to 278 in the country's provinces controlled by the government.

According to a brief statement released by the country's supreme national emergency committee, "during the past 24 hours, the heath departments officially recorded 22 new COVID-19 cases in four provinces controlled by the government."

Meanwhile, the death toll from the virus climbed to 57 after four new deaths were recorded in the areas controlled by the Yemeni government.

The pro-government health authorities said also that the number of recoveries has increased to 11 since the outbreak of coronavirus on April 10.

The Yemeni government has taken several measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19, including imposing a partial overnight curfew in Aden and other major cities under its control.

The government called on donors and relevant international humanitarian organizations to provide support to help contain the pandemic.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized much of the country's north and forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of capital Sanaa.