‘Game of deaths’: Somalia’s unusually high deaths amid virus spread
Somalia is recording a spate of double digit deaths since after mid April 2020, a situation which has led to concerns among relevant authorities.
Mayor of the capital Mogadishu, Omar Filish, is quoted by local media as saying that the administration had recorded 500 deaths spanning a two week period: from 19th of April to 1st May.
The Mayor adds that he believes that most of the deaths were due to coronavirus. He added that the highest buried numbers in a day is 49 as the lowest is 22.
But he is not alone in expressing such concerns, days ago Information Minister Mohamed Hayir Mareye was also on record as saying all deaths in Mogadishu were as a result of COVID-19.
Officially, however, Somalia has recorded 601 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 28 deaths and 31 recoveries according to John Hopkins University tallies valid as of May 2, 2020 at 9:30 GMT.
The country’s case count is one of the highest in the East, Horn of Africa region where neighbouring Djibouti tops the standing with over 1,000 cases.
East Africa tallies as of May 2:
- Djibouti – 1,097
- Kenya – 411
- Mauritius – 332
- Rwanda – 249
- Tanzania – 480
- Somalia – 601
- Ethiopia – 133
- Sudan – 533
Mogadishu main mosques started applying social distancing in prayers to prevent the spread of #COVID19. This is the Mogadishu’s “Isbahaysiga Mosque” this Friday, where less number of people attended Friday Khudba and almost everyone also had a FaceMask. #Somalia pic.twitter.com/lJedWqGuSY
— Somalia COVID19 (@SomaliaCovid19) May 1, 2020
