Mogadishu mayor warns about coronavirus spike

The mayor of Somalia's capital Mogadishu says the city has seen an unusual number of deaths recently and warns the country is still drastically under-counting cases of coronavirus.

In just over two weeks, confirmed cases of coronavirus in Somalia have nearly tripled, spreading to every state in the country.

The Somali Federal Government has reported 722 people infected by coronavirus, with 32 dead.

But in a weekend press conference Mogadishu Mayor Omar Filish said that the city’s health authorities have recorded over 500 deaths across the city in just the past two weeks.

He said the number was well above normal and he believed most were related to coronavirus.

He said the city administration has seen between 17 and 49 deaths per day since 19 April.

The federal government warned in early April that there could be several undetected cases of coronavirus in Somalia.

Health workers around the city seem to support the Mayor’s claims.

Hospital workers say they have seen a rise in patients while the city’s grave diggers say they have had to bury an unusual number of people.