A breakaway region in Somalia records 4 new coronavirus cases

[Deeq A.]

The Ministry of Health of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland has announced three more cases of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Somaliland’s Minister of Health Omar Abdullahi Bade said the cases were registered in the region’s capital, Hargeisa and Togdheer region.

This brings the COVID-19 cases announced by the breakaway region to five. No death has so far been reported.

The development comes as Somaliland received medical laboratory equipment to test the COVID-19 virus.

Minister Bade revealed that the World Health Organisation delivered the laboratory equipment to Somaliland.

He added that the testing machine will have the capacity to test up to 500 people in a day and get results within 12 hours instead of the many days it used to take to get results after sending them to Kenya for testing.

The minister announced that the WHO will send a lab expert to Hargeisa to hep train Somaliland medical professionals on testing the deadly disease.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has never received international recognition.

Somalia has so far announced 27 COVID-19 cases and two deaths.

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