Number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Djibouti soars to 121

The Djibouti Ministry of Health disclosed on Tuesday the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the horn of Africa nation has soared to 121.

These figures were reached after 31 more people were confirmed on Tuesday to have been infected with COVID-19 virus.

 According to the ministry “We conducted medical tests on 450 people in the last 24 hours, with 31 people testing positive for COVID-19,”

Salah Banoita Tourab, Djiboutian health minister said in a press statement “We declare nine people who tested positive for COVID-19 and were hospitalized have recovered,”

Djibouti confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 18.

Djibouti, which lies on a key location connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, hosts a number of foreign military bases and is the main sea outlet for landlocked Ethiopia.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa has risen to more than 10 000 and caused more than 500 deaths. While the virus was slow to reach the continent compared to other parts of the world, infection has grown exponentially in recent weeks and continues to spread.

Reaching the continent through travellers returning from hotspots in Asia, Europe and the United States, Africa’s first COVID-19 case was recorded in Egypt on 14 February.

Since then a total of 52 countries have reported cases. Initially, mainly confined to capital cities, a significant number of countries in Africa are now reporting cases in multiple provinces.