2 April 2020 – In just one week, the number of COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region has almost doubled, from 32 442cases on 26 March to 58 168on 2 April. New cases have been reported in some of the most vulnerable countries with fragile health systems. Even in countries with stronger health systems, we have seen a worrying spike in the...

27 March 2020, Cairo, Egypt – 21 out of 22 countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region are now reporting cases of COVID-19, including new reports of 5 confirmed cases in Syria and one confirmed case Libya. The past weeks have seen some of the most developed health systems in the world struggle with their response to COVID-19. The emergence of the...

26 March 2020 — A team of experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded a COVID-19 technical support mission to Egypt on 25 March 2020. The objectives of the mission were to understand the current situation; review ongoing response activities; provide on-site technical support as needed; and identify strengths and gaps to guide...

25 March 2020, Riyadh — The World Health Organization (WHO), with support from Saudi Arabia, is working to combat COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and beyond. On 23 March, Saudi Arabia helped airlift WHO medical equipment and supplies from WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai to Aden, Yemen. The shipment, which included personal protective items...

WHO delivered protective equipment for COVID-19 to the Djibouti Ministry of Health including goggles, surgical gowns, gloves, face masks and hand sprayers. The distribution of personal protective equipment to health facilities is one of WHO's recommended measures to protect against spread of the virus. DjiboutiCity, 18 March 2020 -The Ministry...

Press conference, 18 March 2020 Dear colleagues and friends, Thank you for joining us here again today for the latest updates on COVID-19, as well as updates on some the work that has been happening on a regional level to help countries manage this pandemic. In the past weeks since many of you were last here, there has been many developments in...

12 March 2020, Cairo, Egypt - Today in our Region, 9960 cases in 16 countries have been reported, including 366 deaths reported in 5 countries (as of 3 pm Cairo local time). Almost all the deaths were patients aged 60 years or above, who had pre-existing conditions that were exacerbated when they contracted the virus. We are concerned about the...

11 March 2020 – Representatives of 12 United Nations agencies gathered for the First Regional Health Forum on 4 March 2020 at the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean to review countries' experience in implementation of the “Global Action Plan for Healthy Lives and Well-being for All” in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, identify the...

3 March 2020, Cairo, Egypt - 1682 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in 14 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region as of 2 March, 6pm Cairo local time. These include 66 deaths reported in Islamic Republic of Iran. While the numbers inside China have been rapidly declining, the sudden increase in cases in countries outside China, including in...

Cairo, Egypt, 16 February, 2020 - The World Health Organization announces a total of nine confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region as of 16 February 2020. Eight cases were reported in by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health and Prevention between 29 January and 9 February, and one case was reported by the Egyptian...