The Ministry of Health of Ethiopia and the national public health institute today confirmed the first case of coronavirus.
“Ethiopia confirms it’s first positive test for Covid_19. The patient is a 48 year old Japanese citizen who came to Ethiopia on March 4th from Burkina Faso and is currently isolated at our facility undergoing medical follow up,” the Minister of Health Dr. Liya Tadesse, twitted.
A 58 years old Japanese national who arrived Ethiopia last week has been found acquiring the deadly virus, according to the Ministry, whose officials briefed reporters this afternoon. Earlier this morning, the Kenyan Government has also announced the first case of coronavirus.
Some 25 people identified to have contact with the Japanese national are currently being quarantined. Minister of Health Dr. Liya stated at the press conference that the individual is currently being treated in isolation.
In a related development the Minister also indicated that an American soldier who was in Ethiopia from February 17 to 19 is reported to acquire coronavirus. She indicated that it is not clear if he acquired the deadly virus in Ethiopia, before he come to Ethiopia or after he went back to the United States.
Minister Liya however indicated that the Ministry has examined the people the American national has interacted with during his stay in Ethiopia and found no coronavirus case.
Reports show that including Ethiopia 116 countries in the world have confirmed coronavirus cases. Some 125,000 people are reported to acquire the virus, while about 5,000 are dead. Out of the total who acquired the deadly virus the health condition of some 68,000 is getting better, according the World Health Organization (WHO) report.