Sanaa, April 12 (IANS) Health authority in Yemeni Houthi-controlled Sanaa urged residents to wear masks to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yemen has seen a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases for the last few weeks as its daily caseload has risen by nearly fivefold compared to the past winter, reaching around 100 cases per day, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The war-ravaged country, with only half of its health facilities functioning, severely lacks the ability to fence off the threat of the deadly virus.

--IANS int/