This archive report was first published on 7 May 2020.
Published on May 7, 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had already taken a toll on regional neighbors, but the recent surge in cases in Somalia and Djibouti has raised new concerns.
As of Wednesday, Djibouti had reported 1,120 cases, while Somalia had filed 835 incidences of infections.
Both countries share cultural and linguistic ties with Kenya and Ethiopia, but the rise in cases has directly affected their neighbors.
On Wednesday, Ethiopia reported 17 new cases of the virus, with 13 of those individuals having recently returned from Djibouti and Somalia, highlighting the porous borders between the countries.
Four other cases were residents of Addis Ababa with no travel history, indicating a community spread that officials had feared weeks ago.
Ethiopia now has 162 total cases, with four deaths and 93 recoveries.
Meanwhile, Somalia's Health Minister Fawziya Abukar indicated that the cases had spread across the country, with Benadir (the metropolis of Mogadishu), Jubbaland, South West state, and Puntland all reporting new cases.
Dr. Abukar stated that the 835 cases were mostly in Mogadishu, but also in its five federal states, as well as the autonomous region of Somaliland.
As the cases continue to rise, Somalia's Finance Minister Abdirahman Beileh admitted that the country had to think about economic shields to avoid a relapse into pre-war status.
He emphasized the need to prioritize the health and wellbeing of the Somali people, providing public information on how to keep safe, continuing with social distancing measures, and providing tax relief on essential stable food to offset the cost of basic foods rising at this vulnerable time.
However, Somalia's own problems aren't just about information, but cultural. The government imposed a dusk-dawn curfew in the capital and banned public gatherings, but officials were struggling to implement it.
Dr. Abukar said on Tuesday that Somalia had lost 38 people to Covid-19, but officials admit they have not tested the cause of death on everyone, especially in places far off the capital.
Meanwhile, in Tanzania, authorities do not normally announce a daily update on new infections, with officially 480 cases and 16 deaths reported.
