Hargeisa (Somtribune) -The recently appointed national preparedness committee against COVID-19, exercising its executive mandate, announced that overland borders with neighboring Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti will be closed for an initial three weeks period starting from Thursday, March 26.
The Committee also decided that all in-coming passengers arriving at the Somaliland capital’s Egal International Airport will be held on quarantine for 14 days starting from today, Wednesday.
Likewise, all seaports will be closed except for essential items and foodstuffs import docking at the Red Sea port of Berbera.
Closer to home, the government asked the public not to frequent teashops, restaurants and hotels except for minimum necessities.
Except for the ministries of Health, Finance and Information, Egal International Airport, Berbera Port, national banks, municipalities and engineers and construction personnel building the Erigavo-Burao road , all other government ministries, agencies and national parastal bodies will only retain skeletal staff with the rest working from home if necessary.
The new measures follow the closure of schools, universities and other learning/training institutions on March 17.
The COVID combat committee, also, banned flights from 8 countries and prohibited large get-togethers, putting the whole country on high alert.
How on-land travel between the Republic of Somaliland and the countries affected by today’s border closures was not specifically addressed as it would strand hundreds on either side of the borders with no means to sustain themselves for a period that long.
[…] April 4 and 13, respecrively,, the Somaliland NPC released strict guidelines to curtail the spread of the […]