Mideast states must urgently share more information on coronavirus cases – WHO

Middle East states need to urgently offer more information about coronavirus cases to help bolster the fight against the disease across the region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, said the regional approach to fighting the coronavirus had so far been “uneven” and that much more should be done, Reuters reports. “Unfortunately, even today, as the situation is becoming critical, information on cases is insufficiently communicated by countries to WHO,” Mandhari said, referring to “under-reporting on the part of some countries with regard to positive cases.”

The WHO has seen efforts to strengthen surveillance, scale up testing and support families who are isolating relatives or in quarantine, he added, but some states were not fully engaged.

The United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday it would bar entry to foreigners apart from diplomats and residents. Saudi Arabia included most of its private sector in a work suspension to battle the spread of the coronavirus in the Gulf region.