Blog archive all

28th May 2020
Health authorities in Algeria and Morocco say they intend to continue treating Covid-19 patients with anti-malaria drugs despite safety concerns raised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Algeria claims to have had "great success" using hydroxychloroquine in combination with antibiotics and… Read more
27th May 2020
There used to be about ten burials a day in the cemeteries of Yemen's second city, Aden, but since Covid-19 arrived the number has risen to around 80 a day. Although many of these deaths have not been properly investigated, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) which runs the city's only dedicated Covid-… Read more
26th May 2020
According to official figures, there are now almost 4,000 Covid-19 cases in Sudan – a third of them recorded during the past week. Those are the ones known to the authorities but health minister Akram Ali al-Tom readily acknowledges that the real number is higher. "The virus is running in front of… Read more
25th May 2020
If official reports are to be believed it's now more than three weeks since any Syrian living under the Assad regime's rule has become infected with the Covid-19 coronavirus. Although confirmed cases in regime-controlled areas have now risen to 106 the most recent 63 of them were all detected… Read more
24th May 2020
Ramadan is over and now it's holiday time. As Muslims enjoy the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al-Fitr, hotels in Egypt – previously closed because of the coronavirus pandemic – are beginning to receive guests again. On Friday, for the first time since March, 68 visitors checked into hotels in… Read more
23rd May 2020
Yesterday Tunisia's health ministry announced the results of 1,320 Covid-19 tests. Only six were positive and of those, only two were new cases. The other four were re-tests of people previously diagnosed with the virus. “Our country has succeeded in confronting the COVID-19 pandemic,” prime… Read more
22nd May 2020
Covid-19 infections in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza have more than doubled over the last few days, rising from 20 to 55. The new cases were discovered among Gaza residents who recently returned from Egypt or Israel, and the Hamas authorities have responded by announcing that no one else will be… Read more
21st May 2020
Faced with a shortage of places for quarantining Egyptians who return from abroad, the authorities have adopted an original – if dangerous – solution. To create more space, they have reduced the mandatory quarantine period from 14 days to seven. Egyptian citizens who test negative for Covid-19… Read more
20th May 2020
Kuwait has assigned its National Guard to take over the running of supermarkets where staff have been struck down by the Covid-19 coronavirus. One of those placed under military operation and management is the Khaldiya Cooperative Society which closed its doors ten days ago following the discovery… Read more
19th May 2020
By May 6, Jordan had gone ten days without any Covid-19 infections coming to light inside the country. Since then, though, there have been 166 new cases – more half of them linked to a single truck driver in Mafraq province. After returning from Saudi Arabia the driver was sent into home… Read more