Six Suspected Cases of Coronavirus Test Negative

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia’s Health officials announced the six suspect cases of coronavirus – who have been quarantined in Addis Ababa – are free of the virus.

“All the suspected cases of six travelers from China are negative,” declared state minister of health Lia Tadesse on Twitter late Saturday.

The five Ethiopians and a Chinese national had all traveled from China, where the new virus has killed more than 600 people, and they were waiting for their test result.

“At this point, we have no suspect cases and we will continue our vigilant screening & follow up of travelers,” Dr. Lia said.

Previously all eight other suspected cases of coronavirus identified in Ethiopia have tested negative after their blood samples sent to South Africa.

On Saturday, Ethiopian Public health Institute has installed the lab technology to test the samples in the country.

“With the support of WHO (world health organization), we now have the capacity to test for the novel Coronavirus 2019,” the state minister said.

Officials said on Friday that all travelers from the Chinese city of Wuhan – the center of the virus – are being isolated and tested.

Ethiopian Airlines continues to fly to China.

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Image: Health officials are screening travelers at the main airport in Addis Ababa