#COVID19: Somalia warns of ‘dire’ situation, mulls lockdown

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU:  Health Minister Dr. Fawziya Abikar has warned that the COVID-19 situation in Somalia is ‘dire’ and called for strict adherence to health measure to combat the disease as the country records an over 10% positivity rate for about a month now.

Dr. Abikar said in a tweet Monday her Ministry has advised for a second lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. “Please maintain social distancing and avoid large gatherings at all costs. The situation is dire but we are confident that with the roll-out of vaccines in the near future we will be able to manage this second wave,” Dr. Abikar said.

She attributed the containment of the first wave last year to restrictions imposed by the government and vouched for similar measures. “The first outbreak was managed largely thanks to a lockdown and closure of all school and universities. We have again submitted and advised for these same restrictions and measures.”

She urged parents not to send their children to school and called for adherence to health measures such as social distancing and avoiding large crowds. The government closed down schools mid last month for two weeks as the second wave of the disease made landfall.

A further 266 people tested positive for COVID-19 Friday out of a sample size of 1,807 taking the number of confirmed cases to 7,257. Six more people died adding the fatalities to 239 while 3,808 have recovered.

The capital Mogadishu is the most hit thus far recording 3,587 cases. Somaliland comes second with 1603 followed by Puntland with 1,349 positive cases.