The leader of Somaliland Muse Bihi Abdi has pardoned 574 inmates on Wednesday.
The move is aimed at decongesting the prisons hence precaution towards the coronavirus.
According to the office of President Bihi, the freed prisoners are those who didn’t commit serious crimes.
Health authorities in the self-declared state reported the first two cases of coronavirus on Tuesday.
officials in Hargeisa said samples were taken from two individuals — a local man who visited Britain and a Chinese man — had tested positive for COVID-19. They added that they are trying to track down other people who were in contact with the suspected man.
Temporary emergency centers to quarantine suspected patients were established by the authorities.
Schools were closed and public gathering restricted in an effort to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The Federal Government of Somalia said it delivered testing kits to Hargeysa donated by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma but Hargeysa didn’t confirm or deny the donations
