The first case of COVID commonly referred to as the Coronavirus has been diagnosed in Somalia. An individual tested positive for the deadly disease after arriving in the capital Mogadishu on a trip from China, which is the epicenter of the outbreak.
Speaking on Somali National Television (SNTV), the health minister Fawzia Abdikadir states that the individual went under a routine examine upon arrival and tested positive for the disease. The individual is currently being quarantined at an disclosed location in the capital Mogadishu according to the minister.
Furthermore, the minister of aviation Mohamed Abdullahi Omar speaking on the same televised broadcast reveal all international flights in and out of Somalia would be completely halted in the wake of the disease outbreak. The ban on international flights will mostly effect Somali diaspora who regularly visit the homeland and with the holy month of Ramadan around the corner it’ll have an impact on many families.
The individual who tested positive at Aden Cadde International airport in Mogadishu is yet to be identified. Similar outbteaks of the Coronoavirus have occured in neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya, with authorities in Addis Ababa revealing 5 people falling victim to the disease. Likewise authorities in Nairobi have stated 3 people have been diagnosed with the disease.
Somalis at home an abroad where horrified when the news broke. Somalia’s healthcare system is non existent and the country struggles to cope with curable diseases such as Malaria, Cholera and Measles. The discovery of the Coronavirus itself has sent shockwaves throughout the country.
Halgan Media Service Desk
