Impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Middle East
CGTN
What is the impact of the coronavirus on the Middle East? Already a number of countries have followed similar measures undertaken in China and East Asia as well as in some European countries: schools and universities are closing down, all but the most essential travel is being discouraged, working from home is being promoted and hospitals are preparing for a surge of COVID -19 cases.
Despite these measures, the spread of the virus and its likely impact in the coming months will vary considerably. For now, the greatest number of cases has been reported in the Gulf. As for deaths related to COVID -19, they have been mainly in Iran and a few cases in Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon. But probably at greatest risk are those caught up in conflict in countries like Syria, Yemen and Libya.
