Senior Somali cleric succumbs to COVID-19 as disease springs up

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Senior cleric Sheikh Nur Baruud has died of COVID-19 after he was admitted at Martini Hospital in Mogadishu.

Sources said the renown cleric succumbed to the disease at a time the country is experiencing a resurgence of the pandemic after a lull for several months.

Baruud who until his death was the vice-chairman of the Somali Clerics Association was born in 1950 in the Somali region of Ethiopia. He rose to become one of the most influential clerics in Somalia and has been instrumental in peace and reconciliation processes in the country.

His death adds to a list of several public officials including two former prime ministers who have died of COVID-19 in Somalia. Over 150 people have since died of the disease according to records from the Ministry of Health.

One hundred people tested positive for the disease Wednesday adding to an increasing streak in the last one week.