#COVID19So: Shock as 73 test positive for COVID-19 in 24 hours

The number of COVID-19 cases in Somalia has risen sharply with over 200 cases recorded in the last week alone bringing to 237 confirmed cases since the virus landed in the Horn of Africa nation slightly more than a month ago.

The Ministry of Health announced Monday night 73 cases making it the highest recorded since the first case was noted on March 16. Only Djibouti in the Eastern Africa region has registered such high numbers in a day.

It was not immediately clear the 73 cases were out of how many tests but the last one week has seen a drastic rise in the COVID-19 cases with an average of over 30 cases in a day. From April 13 to date, the number of confirmed cases adds up to 212 signifying a fast spread of the disease amid a feeble health infrastructure.

Somalia recorded the first case on March 16 and was followed by a lull for close to three weeks before an explosion at the end of the first week of April. Confirmed cases as of April 7 were only 8 but in a period of two weeks, the numbers have shot up significantly clocking 237 in only 14 days.

According to tabulations from the Ministry of Health, about 394 patients have been tested for COVID-19 with more than half of this testing positive.