MOGADISHU, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Somali health ministry on Wednesday confirmed 38 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections to 873.
The Health Minister Fawziya Abikar said the majority of the cases, 35, were detected in Banadir, an administration area that covers the capital Mogadishu while three others were found in the semi-autonomous region of Somaliland.
Abikar said 12 patients recovered from hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 87. The minister said 30 of the latest cases were male while eight others were female.
The minister said only one patient succumbed to the deadly respiratory disease, bringing the total number of deaths to 39.
The new cases are largely due to community transmission and the World Health Organization has warned that if the virus transmission is not slowed down rapidly, the patient surge and increasing demand for health care will overwhelm the country's fragile health system. Enditem
