COVID-19 pandemic in Somalia

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Somalia on 16 March 2020 when the first case was confirmed in Mogadishu.

COVID-19 pandemic in Somalia
DiseaseCOVID-19
LocationSomalia
First outbreakChina
Arrival date16 March 2020
(4 years, 9 months and 1 week)
Confirmed cases928 (as of 7 May)[1]
Active cases778 (as of 7 May)
Recovered106 (as of 7 May)
Deaths
44 (as of 7 May)
Government website
https://twitter.com/SomaliaCovid19

Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire announced that the government had set aside five million dollars to deal with the disease. The Somali Medical Association was worried that the death toll in the country will be huge and that Somalia will not be able to recover from the economic effects due to poor working relations and the lack of healthcare.[2]

It was also rumored that President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed may use the pandemic as an excuse to postpone elections.[3] There were concerns over freedom of the press following arrests of journalists who were covering the pandemic in Somalia.[4]

COVID-19 Pandemic In Somalia Media

References

  1. COVID19, Somalia (2020-05-08). "Update on COVID-19 in Somalia.07/05 2020: New cases confirmed today: 55 Benadir: 41 Puntland:13 HIrshabelle:1 Male: 37 Female: 18 Recovery: 19Death: 5 Total confirmed cases: 928 Total recoveries: 106 Total deaths: 44". @SomaliaCovid19. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
  2. "Coronavirus pandemic: Experts say Somalia risk greater than China". Al Jazeera News. 19 March 2020. 
  3. "Law on Farmajo's side should he delay elections". The East African. 11 April 2020.
  4. "Somali Journalists Arrested, Intimidated While Covering COVID-19". Vpoce of Africa. 18 April 2020.