The ministry of health for the Separatist enclave in Northern Somalia dubbed Somaliland has released a statement on the possible discovery of new COVID-19 cases in the region. Health officials in the Northern Somali city of Hargeysa reveal 16 individuals where detained and subsequently quarantined after showing symptoms of COVID-19 upon arriving at the local airport.
The individuals have been identified as members of the Somali diaspora community who’ve returned from the US and Britain. The individuals arrived at Igal international airport in Hargeysa mid afternoon on an Ethiopian Airlines flight. Upon arrival many of the individuals began showing signs of COVID-19 and where immediately whisked by medical staff to an undisclosed location to be quarantined.
The indivduals under quarantine include women and children. There well being is not clear at the moment, neither is it known if the US and British embassies based in Mogadishu where made aware of there citizens being detained and quarantined in Northern Somalia. The latest developments have angered the global Somali community for obvious reasons.
As of the moment, Somalia has only one confirmed case of COVID-19 commonly referred to as the Coronavirus. This individual was a Somali national who arrived in Mogadishu after returning from the Chinese province of Wuhan, which was where the pandemic originated from. The possibility of more Coronavirus cases would devastate an already impoverished nation such as Somalia, which struggles to deal with curable diseases such as Cholera, Measles and Malaria.
The 16 individuals detained in Hargeysa with symptoms of the Coronavirus comes a mere 24 hours after the Somali Government in Mogadishu made a controversial move to allow international flights into the country. This move is viewed as highly controversial knowing just a week ago, the Somali government banned all international flights after the first case of the Coronavirus was confirmed in Mogadishu. What made the Somali government change there stance on international flights remains unknown.
This reckless endeavor by authorities in Mogadishu has led to an Ethiopian Airlines flight arriving in Hargeysa, which might prove deadly. So far 16 passengers on that flight have shown symptoms of the Coronavirus. But we’ll know more in the coming days, on weather or not the individuals test positive for the Coronavirus.
Halgan Media Service Desk
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