COVID19FeaturedNews

Ethiopia’s confirmed COVID-19 cases pass 65,000

ADDIS ABABA, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) — The Ethiopian Ministry of Health on Tuesday disclosed that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases hit 65, 486.

Ethiopia’s confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 65, 486, after 700 new cases were reported on Tuesday, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, Ethiopia recorded 13 new deaths on Tuesday. This brings the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the East African country to 1,035.

The ministry said that some 25,988 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had recovered, including 655 in the last 24-hour period.

According to the ministry, a total of 38,461 COVID-19 patients are still undergoing medical treatment, including 280 in severe condition.

The East African country officially launched a nationwide month-long testing campaign in early August, which the Ethiopian government said “will determine the next steps to undertake in the new year.”

Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation with about 107 million people, has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the East Africa region.

Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa is currently the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic accounting for more than 50 percent of all confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the ministry. Addis Ababa currently has 35,994 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Earlier this month, Ethiopia overtook Nigeria to become the fourth most COVID-19 affected country in the African continent.

Ethiopia also has the fourth highest confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the continent, with only South Africa, Egypt and Morocco having greater numbers of COVID-19 cases.

Ethiopia confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 13. Enditem