COVID-19 deaths in Somalia hit 23, positive cases jump to 436

Twenty-three people have died out of COVID-19 in Somalia making it the country with the highest death toll in the region as 436 other people contract the disease.

As of Sunday, the Ministry of Health recorded five more deaths in the country bringing to 23 the total deaths. Another 46 tested positive for the disease.

Only ten people have recovered from the disease as fears rise the disease could have spread widely within the population especially in the capital Mogadishu.

According to the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as of April 25, among those affected by the disease were 15 health workers. Outside Mogadishu, Galmudug has recorded one case while Puntland and Jubbaland have recorded one and two cases respectively.

Six cases have been recorded in Somaliland tracked to Burao and Berbera. Mogadishu, according to OCHA is the most affected with 379 cases. As of April 25, per the OCHA report, out of the 390 cases, 286 are male and 104 females.

In the eastern African region, Somalia has the highest number of deaths at 23 followed by Kenya with 14 and Tanzania at 10. Djibouti which has recorded the highest cases at 1,023 has registered only two deaths.