Coronavirus: Djibouti cases rise to 1,401
Sunday May 17 2020
Students wear face masks in Somalia's capital Mogadishu on March 19, 2020, as a protective measure against the coronavirus. Djibouti's Covid-19 cases have risen to 1,401 after 70 more people tested positive for the virus. PHOTO | ABDIRAZAK HUSSEIN FARAH | AFP
Djibouti’s Covid-19 cases have risen to 1,401 after 70 more people tested positive for the coronavirus disease, the Ministry of Health announced on Sunday.
The country has tested 17,532 people so far, officials say.
Since Djibouti reported its first Covid-19 case on March 18, the country has witnessed a huge rise in coronavirus cases.
On May 6, Djibouti had reported 1,120 cases. The country had closed its land borders, except for cargo movements, to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Despite the high numbers of infections in a country of about one million people, the country began easing Covid-19 restrictions last week due to “economic pressure”.
Last week, Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said that the country would begin easing lockdown restrictions gradually from May 11, 2020 to enable citizens to earn a living.
“The stakes are high but there is no other option. People need to make their living and go to work,” Mr Youssouf wrote in a Twitter post last Sunday.
The foreign minister said that public transport services will resume and places of worship will be allowed to reopen, provided that the public follows “very strict measures” such as wearing face masks in public, respecting social distancing and adhering to high hygienic standards.
“The borders will remain closed except for humanitarian personnel who will follow an agreed protocol to avoid reintroducing a new form of the virus,” Mr Youssouf added.
Last month, Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh warned the public against defying the government’s measures to contain the spread of the virus.