Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Kheyre held talks with representatives from the Somali chamber of commerce in his office on Friday.
The discussions which were also attended by among other government officials including Minister for trade and industries engineer Abdullahi Ali Hassan focused on ways to avert the spread of coronavirus in the country and its impact on the economy.
The premier stressed the need for both the government and the business community in closely cooperating on the prevention of COVID-19.
Hassan Kheyre urged the traders to help in the provision of basic goods and services to the community in affordable prices during the lockdown over the pandemic.
Various business centers mainly in the capital have hiked their prices especially sanitation and hygiene products following the discovery of the first case of COVID-19 in the country last week.
The prices of handwashing detergents and sanitizers have double following high demand.
So far a Somali national who was diagnosed with the virus was quarantined in one of the designated areas by the ministry of health. Nine other suspect persons who traveled from affected countries were also isolated for confirmation.
International flights in and outside the country were suspended for two weeks and all learning institutions closed as a preventive measures by the federal government of Somalia.
