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Yemen’s health care system collapses as virus spreads

Doctors Without Borders says it has witnessed the highest death rate yet from the virus in the Houthi-held city of Sanaa.
People recovering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are pictured at a quarantine ward of a hospital in Sanaa, Yemen June 11, 2020. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah - RC217H9IXKHA

The coronavirus is spreading undetected throughout all of Yemen, causing the "complete collapse" of the health care system, Doctors Without Borders warned Thursday. 

The medical charity said it has treated hundreds of patients with respiratory symptoms in its COVID-19 centers in Sanaa and Aden, many of whom “die in a surprisingly short amount of time.” The organization says hospitals aren’t just suffering from a lack of medicine and equipment, but a shortage of doctors and nurses willing to treat the disease. 

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