Somtribune (Mogadishu) -Somalia Frontline health workers and doctors have contracted COVID-19 due to inadequate protective gear and adverse working conditions, a doctor revealed Wednesday.
Dr Harith Abdulkadir, the third doctor who declared his positive condition disclosed that, to his knowledge, at least fifteen health workers have contracted the fearful coronavirus.
Dr Harith attributes the high number of affected health workers due to inadequate or absent protective gear, the nature of their work which puts them in contact with diverse patients among whom both diagnosed and yet-to-be-undiagnosed COVID-19 cases, and the cramped, unhelpful conditions under which they belabour.
“25% of all who tested positive belong to the health personnel field. This is an alarming development which puts little trust in seeking sanctuaries and treatment,” he said.
Somalia COVID-positive cases are, according to the federal government of Somalia’s ministry of health, on the rise. The last tally which it officially announced a couple of days earlier stood at 60 – although the number included 5 cases found in the Republic of Somaliland over which the FGS has no control of.
Thus far, two people have been reported dead but other sources indicate that a good number of people who had never reported to a health facility succumb to conditions similar to the pandemic, and are buried without postmortem investigations.
