Addis Ababa, March 29, 2020 – The Djibouti Ministry of Health on Sunday disclosed the number of Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the horn of Africa country has reached 18.
The Djibouti Ministry of Health said it had in recent days performed 195 tests, out of which four were confirmed cases of Coronavirus, bringing the total number of infected people to 18.
“The clinical status of the 18 Coronavirus infected people remains stable and satisfactory,” according to a statement issued by the ministry.
“In addition, 41 people are under medical surveillance, pending the results of their COVID-19 tests,” said the statement from the Djibouti Ministry of Health.
The ministry urged all those who live in Djibouti to follow the World Health Organization-mandated health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“Wash your hands with soap very regularly, respect a social distance of at least one meter and disinfect the surfaces of regular contact,” said the statement from the Djibouti Ministry of Health.
Djibouti confirmed its first case of Coronavirus on March 18.
Djibouti, which lies on a key location connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, hosts a number of foreign military bases and is the main sea outlet for landlocked Ethiopia.
About Djibouti
Djibouti is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Somaliland in the south, Ethiopia in the south and west, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden in the east. Across the Gulf of Aden lies Yemen, which does not share a land border with Djibouti. The country has a total area of 23,200 km2 (8,958 sq mi).[1] The state of Djibouti is predominantly inhabited by two ethnic groups, the Somali and the Afar people, with the former comprising the majority of the population.
In antiquity, the territory together with Somaliland was part of the Land of Punt. Nearby Zeila, now in Somaliland, was the seat of the medieval Adal and Ifat Sultanates. In the late 19th century, the colony of French Somaliland was established following treaties signed by the ruling Somali and Afar sultans with the French, and its railroad to Dire Dawa (and later Addis Ababa) allowed it to quickly supersede Zeila as the port for southern Ethiopia and the Ogaden.
It was subsequently renamed to the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas in 1967. A decade later, the Djiboutian people voted for independence. This officially marked the establishment of the Republic of Djibouti, named after its capital city. The sovereign state joined the United Nations the same year, on 20 September 1977.
