Glance at CovID-19
Updated on June 27, global confirmed cases has passed 9.77 million in which US and Brazil remain the world’s worst affected countries and total number of cases hit around 2.46M and 1.27M respectively. The American situation appears to have stabilized particularly regarding the number of new daily cases. However Brazilian report shows skyrocketing cases still; weekly average death rate is still climbing up slowly. The virus origin is on debate. Scientists from Barcelona University have reported that the new coronavirus was present in wastewater in Barcelona, Spain in March 2019, a finding that, if confirmed, would show that the pathogen had emerged much earlier than previously thought. These findings, obviously, challenge the current consensus on where and when the virus originated.
Yemen crisis : a living hell for children
Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, with more than 24 million people – some 80 per cent of the population – in need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 12 million children. With COVID-19 now spreading rapidly, Yemen is facing an emergency within an emergency. Sanitation and clean water are in short supply. Many health workers are receiving no salaries or incentives, and 10.2 million children don’t have access to basic healthcare as well as some 7.8M children unable to access education.
UNICEF is on the ground to save children’s lives, to help them cope with the impact of conflict, and to help them to recover and resume their childhoods. As part of its response to the coronavirus pandemic, UNICEF has shipped crucial personal protective equipment needed by frontline workers and trained around 30,000 health workers in infection prevention and control, and distributed thousands of hygiene kits. Children are also being helped with victim assistance and education on mines and explosive remnants of war. Meanwhile, UNICEF and partners are rehabilitating damaged schools and establishing safe learning spaces. Click here to access UNICEF’s 2020 Humanitarian Action for Children Yemen appeal.
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/26/health/coronavirus-spain.html https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/yemen-crisis#what-unicef-is-doing
Written by Honghong