COVID-19: German minister commits suicide, as Mali goes to poll despite virus fears

The finance minister of Germany’s Hesse state, Thomas Schaefer, has thrown his family and close friends into mourning after he committed suicide over the outbreak of COVID-19.

Reports say Schaefer apparently committed suicide after becoming “deeply worried” over how to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus, state premier Volker Bouffier said on Sunday.

Schaefer, 54, was found dead near a railway track on Saturday. The Wiesbaden prosecution’s office said they believe he died by suicide.

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“We are in shock, we are in disbelief and above all, we are immensely sad,” Bouffier said in a recorded statement.

Meanwhile, voters trooped out in their numbers in the West African country of Mali to partake in long-delayed parliamentary elections a day after the country’s first coronavirus death.

Thus far, there are now 18 confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mali and there are concerns about its spread in a country with a poor healthcare infrastructure.

According to reports, the elections were supposed to have taken place in 2018, but have been put off a number of times, mainly because of continued insecurity.

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