The World Health Organization warned, in a statement, Wednesday, July 14, 2021, that the increase in infections with the emerging coronavirus in many countries of the Middle East and North Africa may lead to catastrophic consequences.
The organization’s office in the Eastern Mediterranean said that after the decrease in injuries and deaths for 8 weeks, there is a significant increase in cases in Tunisia, Libya, Iran and Iraq, in addition to expected sharp increases in Lebanon and Morocco.
In the WHO statement, there is concern that the current rise in Covid-19 infections may continue in the coming weeks, with catastrophic consequences,” adding that the blame is directed at non-compliance with public health measures and social distancing and “increased laxity of societies,” in addition to the low Vaccination rates and the outbreak of new strains of the virus, especially the “delta” version.
The World Health Organization highlighted the situation in Tunisia as the country with the highest death rate due to the Corona virus, considering the population in the region and Africa, and indicated that daily infections almost doubled in Iran over a period of four weeks until early July.
The statement stated that the total number of “Covid-19” injuries in the eastern Mediterranean region of the organization, which includes Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Djibouti, in addition to the countries of the Middle East, exceeded 11.4 million, while the recorded deaths exceed 223,000.
Next week, the countries of the region will celebrate Eid al-Adha, an occasion that traditionally witnesses religious and social gatherings in which the virus may spread.
