The government of Yemeni has decided to reopen the border crossing with Saudi Arabia, four days after closing it due to coronavirus (COVID-19), but the new decision will apply only to commercial cargo.
On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and acting Minister of Transport, Salem Al-Khanbashi, asked the port administration to reopen the border crossing with Saudi Arabia, which is the only transition point between both countries, for commercial cargo, while keeping it closed for citizens for an indefinite period, VisaGuide.World reports.
On April 8, the Al-Wadia border crossing, which links the eastern Yemeni governorate of Hadramaut with the Saudi Sharurah governorate was closed by Yemeni as part of the measures aimed at halting the spread of coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
Al-Wadia remains the only transition point between Yemeni and Saudi Arabia since 2014 when other border crossings were closed due to the ongoing conflict in Yemen.
On April 10, Yemen confirmed its first coronavirus case in a southern province, leading the country to take further steps in the fight against the virus as the healthcare system has been broken by the five-year conflict.
“The first confirmed case of coronavirus has been reported in Hadramout province,” Yemen’s supreme national emergency committee for COVID-19 announced.
The World Health Organization said that it is working closely with the Health Ministry of Yemeni to ensure further rapid containment measures are taken.
Almost two million persons worldwide have tested positive for the virus, while the death toll rose to 122,790.
Up to this point, almost 500,000 persons who had contracted the coronavirus pandemic, have been totally recovered.
The majority coronavirus cases have been confirmed in the United States (590,997), Spain (172,541) and Italy (159,516), France (136,779), Germany (131,100) and the UK (93,873).