Ethiopia’s Coronavirus Tally Nears 370, 000 with 200 Fresh Cases

ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia’s confirmed Covid-19 case tally nears 370, 000 after its ministry of health reported 200 new infections on Friday.

The new positive infections were identified after testing 5, 830 people in the past twenty-four hours, indicates a report the ministry of health issued today.

Seven more Coronavirus-related fatalities and 114 recoveries have also been registered on the day, bringing the death count to 6, 662 and recoveries tally to 346, 547.

The country now has 16, 656 confirmed active cases. Of these, the report claims 265 patients are severely sick and are getting treatment in hospitals, the report indicates.

Ethiopia has reported the highest Covid-19 caseload in the East Africa region since the confirmation of the first Covid-19 case in March, last year. Its cumulative case tally as of November 19 stands at 369, 867, according to the ministry of health.

Vaccination Push

Health officials are currently carrying out a nationwide vaccination drive while urging the public to observe the Covid protocols put in place such as wearing face masks and social distancing.

The country has administered nearly 5.2 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, of which close to 35, 000 of them were offered to the public in the past 24-hours, data from ministry’ reveals.

The vaccination drive, which started on March 13, 2021, has managed to fully immunize close to 3.8 million Ethiopians.

The campaign, which is involves a range of vaccines including Johnson & Johnson, AstaraZeneca and Sinopharm, aims to inoculate as many as 22 million people in the coming two months.