The State of COVID-19 in Ethiopia Compiled by: Belachew Weldegebriel (E-mail: bellachew@gmail.com) Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

1. COVID-19 Ethiopia
Jimma University
Jimma, Ethiopia
Compiled By: Belachew
Weldegebriel
E-mail: bellachew@gmail.com

2. Timeline
 13 March 2020 – despite strict measures applied against the entry of
the virus into the country, first case of COVID-19 confirmed in Ethiopia
- two days after the World Health Organization (WHO) categorized it
as a global pandemic.
 The case, which was announced on the 13th of March 2020, is the first
one to be reported in Ethiopia since the beginning of the outbreak in
China in December 2019.
 The case is a 48- year old Japanese man reported to have traveled from
Japan to Burkina Faso and who then arrived in Ethiopia.
 WIKI
 On 17 March 2020 - Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced the
closure of all schools in the country, the banning of all public
gatherings and sports events for fifteen days, amid intensifying
concerns over the spreading of coronavirus infection.
 April ?- State of emergency proclamation
 Lockdown measures – public transport from Addis to regions and vice
versa prohibited.

3. Timeline
 May 6 and 7 – a shoot in the number of daily report of positive
cases (17, 25 people). The previous higher number was 8 ( )
 April 10 2020 - parliament approved a five-month state of
emergency, giving authorities sweeping powers to battle the
disease.
 On 16 March 2020, the office of the Prime Minister announced that
schools, sporting events, and public gatherings shall be suspended
for 15 days.[66]
 On 20 March 2020, Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to 30
countries affected with the coronavirus.
 On the same date it was announced that anyone entering the
country should undergo a mandatory self-quarantine for 14 days.
Night clubs in Addis Ababa are also to remain closed until further
notice.[67]
 On 23 March 2020, Ethiopia closed all land borders and deployed
security forces to halt the movement of people along the
borders.[68]

4. Timeline
 On 25 March 2020, 4,011 prisoners were granted pardon by
the president in an effort to prevent the coronavirus spread.
The pardon applies only to prisoners convicted of minor
crimes who are serving sentences of up to three years and
those who are about to be released.[69][70]
 On 29 March 2020, Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to
more than 80 countries.[71][72]
 On 2 April 2020, the Federal Attorney General granted pardon
for 1,559 prisoners.[73]
 On 8 April 2020, the Council of Ministers declared a five-
month long state of emergency in response to the growing
number of coronavirus cases.[74][75] The state of emergency
was approved on 10 April by the parliament.[76]

5. Ethiopian Airline – put
the country at risk
 The country’s main international airport in the capital Addis
Ababa is the third busiest in Africa.
 The airline has over 125 international destinations throughout
the world, its persistence to continue flight to the pandemics
stricken countries, including China, is believed to have put the
country at the risk of the virus.
 The national flag carrier, Ethiopian Airlines flies 35 times a
week to China, but not to Wuhan city in Hubei province, the
epi-centre of the coronavirus epidemic.
 According to the WHO, this airline, is now bolstering
preparedness to contain a potential outbreak of COVID-19,
through its cargo service.

6. The State of COVID-19 Cases in
the Country
 Ethiopia has fewer confirmed Coronavirus cases.
 So far most of Ethiopia’s coronavirus cases have been
“imported” – linked to foreign travel or direct contact
with someone who caught the disease abroad.
 Corona virus cases = ___239___
 Deaths = ____5_____
 Recovered= _____99_____

7. Containment Measures Taken
 Closure of schools, colleges and universities
 The banning of all public gatherings and sports events
 The Ethiopian government has since then moved to impose
more sweeping measures, including mandatory quarantine.
 Anyone arriving in Ethiopia will be subject to 14 quarantine at
designated locations.

8. Risky Areas for Transmission of the
Virus
 Public Transport
 Public transport in the city [Addis Ababa] remains the most at risk
as buses and taxis still operate crowded.
 People have to typically spend hours in queues when they wait for
public transports, complicating social distancing.
 Market places
 At Mercato on a Thursday afternoon, the scene was usual market-
day chaos. Shoppers pushed each other out of the way to buy
goods.

9. Risky Areas . . .
 Religious services (churches, mosques, chapels, etc)
 As part of stay at home measures despite
government order to close their gates and attend
some services through television, there is still
ardent desire to go to churches or mosques and
attend the religious services.
 Recreation centers – bars, hotels, cafes, clubs,
lounges particularly on weekends and holidays

10. Concerns
 There are concerns about the effectiveness of containment
measures and the personal behavior and discipline of the public
to abide by the rules.
 Poverty/Living condition – Ethiopia is one of the poorest
countries in the world. Added the economic impact of COVID-19,
the country’s
 Especially the life of people who depend on daily subsistence
would be significantly hampered
 Such people would prefer to go out and work than starve to death
staying at home regardless of the effect of the pandemic on their
life.
 Testing capacity – only about thirty thousand people have been
tested so far in a country of 110 million population.

11. Concerns
 Accessibility of protective equipment and
materials – masks, sanitizers, gloves, detergents,
alcohol

12. Concerns
 In Ethiopia, the public health risks presented by COVID-19
could be vast.
 Living and working conditions are highly conducive for
transmission, as people live in crowded inter-generational
households that often lack running water.
 Allowing economic activity to continue unchecked could lead to
millions of infections within months, with serious cases quickly
overwhelming an already weak health system that has only a
few hundred ventilators and fewer than 500 intensive care units.

13. Contribution to Africa
 Ethiopia has been coordinating the distribution of
Jack Ma`s gift of essential supplies across the
continent.

14. International Cooperation
 WHO has shipped reagent kits for coronavirus
diagnosis to more than 20 countries in Africa including
Ethiopia to step up diagnosis of the virus and is
working closely with countries to help them prepare for
the rapid detection and response to cases or clusters.
 The WHO Country Office Ethiopia (WCO) is following
up closely to ensure an outbreak in Ethiopia is quickly
controlled and contained.
 The COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre housed at
Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) is working
closely with the Ministry of Health and the WCO to
respond to this case and implement firm control
measures.

15. Testing
 Ethiopia now has the capacity to conduct
confirmatory laboratory test for COVID-19 at
the capital, Addis Ababa and similar
laboratories are established and becoming
operational in regions.
 The country nevertheless still has a limited
Testing Capacity.
 Testing, so far, has been limited by a lack of
capacity, adding to uncertainty about the
extent of the virus’s spread among a mostly
rural population of around 110 million people.

16. Testing Capacity
 William Davison, senior Ethiopian analyst for the
International Crisis Group, told Aljazeera
 "Not too much testing has been done, but the
government has steadily increased that, accrediting
other laboratories to do so," he told Al Jazeera from
the capital, Addis Ababa.
 "But certainly, there's not been a huge amount of
testing that's going on - maybe that's partly why
there is not a huge amount of infections."

17. Prevention and Treatment Efforts
 As the pandemic was initially thought as if it was
nothing different from the regular common cold,
there was confidence in people that they could
protect themselves using ginger, lemon, garlic,
pepper and the like.
 Hand washing facilities: At home, across streets and
at squares of Addis Ababa sometimes at residential
areas

18. Traditional Medicine
 The country is also looking to tap into the capability
of traditional medicines to tackle COVID-19.
 Among African countries Madagascar has pioneered
in this regard by preparing a traditional medicine for
COVID-19 treatment from Artemisia despite WHO
warning against the use of traditional medicine.

19. Local cocktail ready for COVID -19
treatment
 At a time when the world is scrambling to find a
cure, a vaccine or some sort of viable treatment for
the Novel Coronavirus that is rocking the globe, the
Ethiopian Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry
of Innovation and Technology (MoIT) have disclosed
that they have an effective treatment in the pipeline
that enhances natural immunity in the fight against
the virus.

20. Local cocktail . . .
 Although the details of the ingredients as well as the
laboratory procedure and testing were not
presented in detail, the two ministries said that a
treatment drug has been discovered from the
traditional medicines in the country.
 It has passed through various testing stages and
now green light has been given for animal and
clinical trial,” the statement announced.

21. Current Clinical Management
 Supportive Care
 Antipyretics and analgesics (paracetamol, tramadol)
for pain and fever management.
 (The use of Ibuprofen, and Aspirin is not
recommended)
 Supplemental oxygen therapy to patients with low
oxygen saturation:
 conservative fluid management

22. Current Clinical Management
 General principle of clinical management for
COVID-19 according to Ethiopian National
Comprehensive COVID-19 Management Handbook
 Underlying /chronic diseases should be identified as
early as possible with detailed history from patient,
close family members or friends.
 Drug interactions, adverse effects of drugs and drug
allergies must be considered during managing the
patient with COVID-19. (PP 40)

23. Current Clinical Management
 National Comprehensive COVID-19 Management
Handbook acknowledges that that there is no
proven anti-viral therapy or vaccine against COVID-
19.
 The handbook nevertheless recommends the use of
Chloroquine and/or Azithromycin as immune-
modulators for patients with moderate to severe
infection and in patients with milder symptoms if
they are elderly and/or with underlying
diseases(MoH).

24. Preventive Measures
 The national health authorities are tightening up surveillance,
diagnosis, infection prevention and control, epidemic response
coordination and public health education to swiftly detect
cases and limit widespread infections (WHO).
 Ethiopian artists (playwrights, musicians, actors and actresses,
comedians) and famous athletes are making their immense
contributions in the awareness creation endeavor.
 Since reporting its first coronavirus case on March 13, Ethiopia,
a major transport hub, has closed land borders and schools,
freed thousands of prisoners to ease overcrowding, sprayed
main streets in the capital with disinfectant, and discouraged
large gatherings. (Aljazeera)

25. Preventive . . .
 While there is still much to learn about COVID-19, people can take
action to prevent the disease through simple, day-to-day measures.
These include the following precautions:
1. Regularly and thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water
and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
2. Maintain a physical distance of at least one meter, particularly if a
person is coughing.
3. Persons with persistent cough or sneezing should stay home or keep
a social distance, and not mix in crowds.
4. Make sure you are coughing into a tissue or a bent elbow, and make
sure to safely dispose of the used tissue afterwards.
5. Stay home if you feel unwell with symptoms like fever, cough and
difficulty in breathing. Please immediately call for medical help using
the EPHI toll free number-8335- which is available day and night.
6. Stay informed on the latest developments about COVID-19 through
official channels

26. Opportunities
 Over the last two years, rival regional, ethnic and political
factions have clashed over ideology, power and resources,
killing thousands and displacing millions (the Africa report).
 Due to the corona virus attack interethnic hatred and political
tensions have subsided at least for the time being.
 People are reaching each other through humanitarian hands
regardless of ethnic and religious backgrounds.
 Hence, corona virus could offer Ethiopia the opportunity to
reboot its troubled transition.

27. Concerns
 Ethiopia’s weak health system, combined with living conditions
favourable to the disease’s transmission, could lead to a massive
outbreak if the appropriate measures are not taken.
 But a full lockdown, like those instituted in China, Italy and
elsewhere, would deprive millions of their livelihoods, especially
those depending on daily wages.
 PM Abiy’s administration has so far chosen a middle path: no
lockdown has been declared, but meetings of more than four
people are prohibited, mouths have to be covered in public and
some inter-city public transport has been suspended.

28.  The COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre is housed at
Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI)
 Yeka Kotebe Hospital in the capital city is reserved for COVID-
19 treatment center
 MoH makes daily report of new cases, recovery and deaths (if
any) of COVID-19.
 Rapid Response Teams (RRT) are established in health centers
in Addis Ababa and regions

29. References
 Covid-19 Pandemic in Ethiopia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in _Ethiopia
 https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-
africa/ethiopia/managing-politics-ethiopias-covid-19-crisis
 Ethiopia Using traditional Medicine to Fight COVID-19
https://www.nazret.com/2020/04/03/ethiopia-using-traditional-
medicine-to-fight-covid-19/
 https://www.afro.who.int/news/first-case-covid-19-confirmed-
ethiopia
 https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-
africa/ethiopia/managing-politics-ethiopias-covid-19-crisis
 Ethiopian COVID-19 Preparedness Bulletin Ethiopia
https://extranet.who.int/sph/news/covid-19-preparedness-
bulletin-ethiopia

30. References
 Ethiopia Declares State of Emergency to Fight COVID-19. 8 april
2020 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/ethiopia-declares-
state-emergency-fight-covid-19-200408142519485.html
 Brook Abdu 28 March 2020 Local Cocktail Ready for COVID-19
Treatment. The Reporter.
https://www.thereporterethiopia.com/article/local-cocktail-ready-
covid-19-treatment
 https://www.afro.who.int/news/first-case-covid-19-confirmed-
ethiopia
 Ethiopian National Comprehensive COVID-19 Management
Handbook
 Coronavirus: Ethiopia’s opportunity to reboot its troubled
transition https://www.theafricareport.com/26304/coronavirus-
ethiopias-opportunity-to-reboot-its-troubled-transition/