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The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged the world, but certain countries are still unaffected by the virus. As of Thursday, 19 countries are based in Africa, Middle East Asia and Oceania where no one has tested positive for the virus. Yet some of those countries can become “decimated” if
the virus spreads to any of them, the UN says.
The nations with no cases are:
Africa – Lesotho, Comoros, Sao Tome & Principe, Malawi, South Sudan
Asia – Turkmenistan, North Korea, Tajikistan, Yemen
Oceania – Solomon Islands, Samoa, Palau, Tuvalu, Nauru, Kiribati, Federated State of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Tonga, Marshall Islands
But experts are warning many of these countries are high-risk for COVID-19.
War-torn Yemen in the middle east is concerning the UN as the country’s five-year-long conflict has left Yemen with a shattered healthcare system and a weakened population.
The UN is also calling for a ceasefire in the war, saying people should be fighting the virus not fighting each other.
The New York Times reported recently that the US President cut off support for many healthcare services and assistance in Yemen. This has brought more worry to experts as about 80 percent of Yemenis depend on humanitarian assistance. Africa was one of the last continents to be affected by coronavirus and now health authorities are trying to get information about prevention out to people as the number of cases rises.
UNCTAD Globalization and Development Strategy Manager Richard Kozul-Wright said they are primarily poor health-care developed countries. “Today, if
the crisis arrives because these countries have been substantially weakened by the crises ‘economic shock waves,” he said.
And this is a very violent combination between an economic downturn and a health crisis.
So we have to find ways to improve the health care system and facilities in developing countries and create resilience very quickly on that front. “There are rumors in Turkmenistan that the government has forbidden the use of the term” coronavirus “to reduce the hysteria around the pandemic.