Somali Health Ministry said on Monday night that the country registered 73 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the national tally to 237.
Health Minister Fawziya Abikar said in a statement that of the new cases, 51 are male while 22 were female. Meanwhile, one more person recovered from the deadly virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to four, while an additional person has died of the disease, bringing the death toll to eight.
The majority of the cases, including the first fatality, in the country have no travel history and resulted from local transmission, with the World Health Organization (WHO) saying further transmission of the virus can be expected.
Both the Somali government and the United Nations have expressed concern about the sharp surge in the number of confirmed cases in Somalia due to limited capacity to contain the spread of the virus because of the fragile healthcare system.
The Horn of African nation has instituted measures to contain the spread of the virus including closing schools, banning large gatherings and suspending international and domestic passenger flights. A nigh curfew took effect on April 15 in Mogadishu to help enhance measures against COVID-19.
