Ethiopia’s COVID-19 Cases Tally Exceeds 200,000 Mark

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia has recorded 1,769 new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, pushing the national tally to more than 200, 000, Ministry of Health reported.

About 7, 250 people have been tested in a twenty-four period to identify the new positive cases.

The Ministry also confirmed 17 people have died due to the virus, bringing the death toll to 2,801.

The number of hospitalizations has also surpassed 800 mark for the first time since the country registered its first case last year.

At least 805 patients are currently receiving medical attention after they become severely ill. Nationwide, there are 43, 437 confirmed active cases of COVID-19, according to Sunday’s report.

Health officials have also reported 1,087 more recoveries, raising the national count to 154,323.

Ethiopia confirmed its first coronavirus case on March 13, 2020. Since authorities have identified 200,563 infections after conducting more than 2.3mln COVID-19 medical tests.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation, is one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19 in the continent, after South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, according to reports.

The Ethiopian government has been urging the public to implement COVID-19 precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus.

The Ethiopia Federal Attorney General Office announced Saturday that a legal directive has been enacted to impose up to three years of imprisonment on those who fail to adhere to COVID-19 health precautions.