MOGADISHU, Somalia - The United Nations in Somalia confirmed on Friday that an employee of a commercial contractor engaged by the UN has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The contractor has been in quarantine for eight days prior to diagnosis and medical professionals are interviewing the individual to trace contacts with the individual.

The UN in Somalia takes the global COVID-19 pandemic seriously and, over the past weeks, has prepared to operate, medical and support procedures for the possibility of such an incident occurring.

"Our priorities are the care of the contractor and to prevent the further spread of the virus," said UN mission.

The UN, through the local office of the World Health Organization (WHO), has been working with the Somali authorities to prepare the country’s health systems to contain and mitigate any outbreak of the pandemic in Somalia.

Following Somalia's health authorities' announcement of two previous cases, this would be the third confirmed case in the country.