Djibouti sees rapid spike in COVID-19 cases

ANKARA

Djibouti has recently witnessed a huge rise in coronavirus cases, according to media reports on Friday.

The Horn of Africa nation with a population of roughly one million people has recorded a seven-fold increase in COVID-19 cases in just two weeks, which the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention called the highest prevalence on the African continent, The Sowetan, a South Africa-based website reported.

"The confinement has not been respected by everyone, and unfortunately many of our compatriots still underestimate the disease," President Ismail Omar Guelleh said in a televised speech this week, according to the report.

"You continue to circulate, not observing minimum social distance, not isolating yourselves, and spreading the disease," he was quoted as saying.

Authorities in Djibouti have conceded the deadly contagious disease has not been successfully curbed since a nationwide lockdown was imposed on March 23, a time when the East African country had only recorded two cases, The Sowetan reported.

Djibouti has seen a total of 999 confirmed cases of virus so far, 252 recoveries have been reported, along with two deaths, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

After originating in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions, with Europe and the US currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed more than 191,900 people, with total infections exceeding 2.73 million, while nearly 749,000 have recovered.