The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

was confirmed in April 2020 to have reached

Puntland Puntland ( so, Puntland, ar, أرض البنط, it, Terra di Punt or ''Paese di Punt''), officially the Puntland State of Somalia ( so, Dowlad Goboleedka Puntland ee Soomaaliya, ar, ولاية أرض البنط الصومالية), is a F ...

, an

autonomous state An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy— ...

in northeastern

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. Puntland recorded eleven cases of COVID-19 and at least one fatality due to the virus by May 2, 2020, though Puntland officials believed the actual number of COVID-19 infections to be much higher. Puntland is the region of Somalia with the second highest number of COVID-19 cases, after

Banaadir Banaadir ( so, Banaadir, ar, بنادر, it, Benadir) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southeastern Somalia. It covers the same area as the city of Mogadishu, which serves as the capital. It is bordered to the northwest by the Shabel ...

, as of May 25, 2020.

Timeline

March 2020

Puntland officials initially declined to close mosques when COVID-19 cases were confirmed in other regions of

in March 2020.

April 2020

The first confirmed case and death was reported on 23 April.

May 2020

By 2 May there had been 11 confirmed cases of which one death. By May 2020, several Puntland government ministers and advisors to President of Puntland

Said Abdullahi Dani Said Abdullahi Deni (, ; born 1966 or 1967, also known as Said Deni, is the current president of Puntland. Previously, he served as the minister of planning of Somalia, after having been appointed to the position on 17 January 2014 by the prime ...

had tested positive for COVID-19. Puntland Health Minister Jama Farah Hassan stated that two Puntland government ministers had tested positive by May 8, 2020. Puntland's Minister of Commerce Abdullahi Abdi Hirsi first reported eye pain, a possible symptom of COVID-19, on May 6, 2020. He sought treatment and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 9, 2020. Hirsi had recently toured flood damage in

Qardho Qardho ( so, Qardho, ar, قرضو), also known as Gardo, is a city in the northeastern Bari region of Somalia, a district within the autonomous state of Puntland. History Until Somalia's Independence Qardho is one of a series of ancient settleme ...

, where he believes he might have contracted the virus. By 11 May there had been 84 confirmed cases of which four deaths. A week later the number of confirmed cases had risen to 136. On May 25, 2020, the Agricultural Ministry announced the death of Puntland's Minister of Agriculture, the Environment, and Climate Change Ismail Gamadiid due to COVID-19. Gamadiid had contracted the coronavirus in Puntland, but had been transferred to a hospital in Mogadishu for treatment for several weeks.

September 2020

By mid-September there had been 496 cases of which nine deaths.

February 2021

By 8 February there had been 1182 cases. By 26 February the number of confirmed cases had grown to 1349.

References

2020 in Somalia 2020 in Puntland History of Puntland

Coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

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