UNICEF: 8 Million Children in Yemen Out of School from War, Pandemic

The latest COVID-19 information and statistics for the Middle East and North Africa

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said this week that around eight million children in Yemen were not in school due to the country’s ongoing civil war as well as the coronavirus pandemic.

“Millions of children have been deprived of their education due to conflict and COVID-19,” said Dr. Sherin Varkey, the UNICEF Yemen representative.

Millions of children have been deprived of their education due to conflict and COVID-19

The agency said that more than 2 million children in Yemen had left school before coronavirus reached the country, and with school closures due to the pandemic, an additional 5.8 million are no longer learning.

United Arab Emirates

Abu Dhabi police said on Thursday that they had broken up a wedding party at a local home for defying a coronavirus ban against social gatherings, Gulf News reported.

The bridegroom, his father and the father of the bride face legal action and fines of up to 10,000 dirhams ($2,722) for organizing the reception. Guests face fines of up to 5,000 dirhams, according to police.

Saudi Arabia

A comprehensive coronavirus database has been compiled by the Center for Research and Knowledge Networking in Riyadh, Arab News has reported.

More than 2,000 detailed facts and figures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic are now available to help researchers in the kingdom.

On Thursday, the Saudi Health Ministry reported 708 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections there to 323,720.

Gaza

The Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip on Thursday reported 195 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the coastal enclave to 1,551, with 10 deaths and 114 recoveries.

Out of 1,427 active cases, the ministry said that 1,422 were local and five were imported. The ministry also confirmed that 1,906 PCR tests had been performed during the previous 24 hours.

The Hamas government placed Gaza’s 2 million residents under lockdown on August 25 after four people from the same family tested positive for the coronavirus in the central Maghazi camp.

Morocco

Morocco on Wednesday extended a health state of emergency until next month following a steep rise in coronavirus cases. Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El-Othmani tweeted that the medical emergency would be in effect until October 10.

The North African country on Monday placed Casablanca under a strict lockdown, including a nighttime curfew and the closing of schools.

Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers for the Middle East and North Africa as of 17:00 UTC on Thursday.