Somalia Sees Surge In COVID-19 Cases As Infections Rises To 1,689

[Deeq A.]

Somali health ministry on Monday confirmed 95 more cases of COVID-19, raising the national tally to 1689.

Fawziya Abikar, the health minister, said five patients succumbed to the deadly virus, bringing the total number of fatalities to 66.

The minister also said 31 more people have recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 235, in a statement issued in Mogadishu.

Mogadishu, the country’s capital has 17 confirmed cases as of Monday, 72 cases in Somaliland, 4 in Southwest and 2 in Galmudug state.

The minister also said 65 of the latest cases are male while 30 others are female persons amid concern from the UN that the cases are largely due to community transmission.

So far Somalia remains to have the highest death toll across East African region & Horn of Africa nation with 66 deaths as of Monday. 235 cases have also been recorded as recovered.

With many cases are going untested and undetected, local and international humanitarian agencies have warned that Somalia faces another desperate situation amid spiral of covid-19 cases.

Somalia has faced decades of violence and cycles of drought and floods, leaving its health care system ill equipped to respond to this outbreak.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been preparing for the spread of coronavirus by training health care staff to screen patients for symptoms and safely isolate potential cases.