The COVID-19 pandemic in Djibouti was a part of the worldwide pandemic of

coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

() caused by

severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a strain of coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), the respiratory illness responsible for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The virus previously had a p ...

(). The virus spread to

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

in March 2020. It is a novel infectious disease caused by

(). Model-based simulations for Djibouti indicate that the 95%

confidence interval In frequentist statistics, a confidence interval (CI) is a range of estimates for an unknown parameter. A confidence interval is computed at a designated ''confidence level''; the 95% confidence level is most common, but other levels, such as 9 ...

for the time-varying reproduction number ''R_t'' has been rising since August 2020 and exceeded 1.0 until April 2021.

Background

Several major world powers have a military presence in Djibouti, including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The country's first confirmed case was a member of the

Spanish military The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Constitution o ...

, and the entire unit was quarantined at the

French military The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. France ...

base in Djibouti.

Timeline

March 2020

* On 18 March, the first COVID-19 case in Djibouti was confirmed, in a member of the Spanish Special Forces who arrived on 14 March for

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

and tested positive on 17 March. The infected soldier did not interact with the local population, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

announced that the team would be repatriated. A contractor working for the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

Camp Lemonnier Camp Lemonnier is a United States Naval Expeditionary Base, situated next to Djibouti–Ambouli International Airport in Djibouti City, and home to the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) of the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRI ...

, the largest and only permanent

US military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six Military branch, service branches: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States N ...

base in Djibouti, tested positive for COVID-19 the same month. A total of 30 cases were confirmed by the end of March.

April to December 2020

* On 2 April, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

approved US$5 million in emergency funding for Djibouti as part of the Djibouti COVID-19 Response Project. By 5 April, the number of confirmed cases had risen to 59. * On 9 April, Djibouti recorded its first coronavirus death. There were 140 people infected with COVID-19, while 28 people recovered. On 23 April, the

in Djibouti declared a public health emergency. By 24 April, Djibouti had the highest prevalence in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. A second case in

was confirmed in late April, triggering an indefinite lockdown. * There were 1059 new cases in April, 2265 in May, 1328 in June, 399 in July, 306 in August, 29 in September, 145 in October, 116 in November, and 154 in December. The total number of cases stood at 1089 in April, 3354 in May, 4682 in June, 5081 in July, 5387 in August, 5416 in September, 5561 in October, 5677 in November, and 5831 in December. * The number of recovered patients stood at 642 in April, 1504 in May, 4524 in June, 4996 in July, 5441 in October, 5582 in November, and 5728 in December, leaving 445 active cases at the end of April, 1826 at the end of May, 104 at the end of June, 27 at the end of July, 4 at the end of August, 11 at the end of September, 59 at the end of October, 34 at the end of November, and 42 at the end of December. * The first two deaths occurred in April. The death toll rose to 24 in May, 54 in June, 58 in July, 60 in August, and 61 in September.

January to December 2021

* Vaccination started on 15 March, initially with 24,000 doses of

AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includin ...

's Covishield vaccine provided through

COVAX COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by the GAVI vaccine alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the World Hea ...

. * There were 101 new cases in January, 134 in February, 1936 in March, 3119 in April, 412 in May, 69 in June, 50 in July, 98 in August,''Communiqué de presse COVID-19 le 31 août 2021'', Ministère de la Santé, 31 August 2021. 1061 in September,''Point de presse Covid-19 le 30 septembre 2021'', Ministère de la Santé, 30 September 2021. 667 in October, 26 in November,''Point de presse Covid-19 le 30 novembre 2021'', Ministère de la Santé, 30 November 2021. and 152 in December.''Point de presse Covid-19 le 31 décembre 2021'', Ministère de la Santé, 31 December 2021. The total number of cases stood at 5932 in January, 6066 in February, 8002 in March, 11121 in April, 11533 in May, 11602 in June, 11652 in July, 11750 in August, 12811 in September, 13478 in October, 13504 in November, and 13656 in December. * The number of recovered patients stood at 5845 in January, 5897 in February, 6460 in March, 10816 in April, 11369 in May, 11443 in June, 11490 in July, 11589 in August, 12149 in September, 13249 in October, 13293 in November, and 13370 in December, leaving 42 active cases at the end of January, 106 at the end of February, 1472 at the end of March, 160 at the end of April, 10 at the end of May, 4 at the end of June, 6 at the end of July, 4 at the end of August, 495 at the end of September, 48 at the end of October, 25 at the end of November, and 97 at the end of December. * The death toll rose to 63 in January, 70 in March, 145 in April, 154 in May, 155 in June, 156 in July, 157 in August, 167 in September, 181 in October, 186 in November, and 189 in December.

January to December 2022

* There were 1795 new cases in January, 96 in February, 40 in March,''Point de presse Covid-19 le 31 mars 2022'', Ministère de la Santé, 31 March 2022. 44 in April, 24 in May, 35 in June, 63 in July, and 207 in September. The total number of cases stood at 15451 in January, 15547 in February, 15587 in March, 15631 in April, 15655 in May, 15690 in June, 15753 in July, and 15960 in September. * The number of recovered patients stood at 15175 in January, 15352 in February, 15391 in March, 15431 in April, 15451 in May, and 15497 in June, leaving 87 active cases at the end of January, 6 at the end of February, 7 at the end of March, 11 at the end of April, 15 at the end of May, and 4 at the end of June. * No new deaths were recorded in 2022, leaving the death toll at 189.

January to December 2023

* The total number of cases increased to 15961 in April.

Statistics

Confirmed new cases per day

Confirmed deaths per day

Government response

On 15 March, Djibouti announced that all commercial passenger flights would be suspended starting 18 March. Trains were also stopped on 20 March. The

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

has provided personal protective equipment to Djibouti. The government announced the closure of all schools and places of worship on March 19 and 22 respectively. A countrywide lockdown was first announced on 23 March and progressively extended until 8 May.

References

External links

WHO COVID-19 Djibouti
{{COVID-19 pandemic