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ADDIS ABABA, Aug.30 (Xinhua) – Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ethiopia reached 51,122 after 1,468 new positive COVID-19 cases were confirmed on Sunday, the country’s Ministry of Health said.
The ministry said in a statement that 23 more patients succumbed to illnesses related to the COVID-19 pandemic over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the East African country to 793.
According to the ministry, some 18,382 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had been recovered, including 266 in the past 24 hours.
The ministry also said that a total of 31,945 COVID-19 patients are still in medical treatment, including 344 in serious condition.
Ethiopia, the second most populous nation in Africa with approximately 107 million people, has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the East African region.
However, the country has a much lower number of recoveries compared to Kenya, the second worst affected country in the region.
Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is currently the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, accounting for about 70 percent of all confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the ministry.
Ethiopia confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 13.
The East African country has so far conducted 890,929 medical tests for COVID-19, including 21,499 medical tests during the last 24-hour period, according to the ministry.
Amid the rapid spread of the virus in recent weeks, the government is stepping up its massive COVID-19 testing campaign.
The Ethiopian government is mobilizing resources to ensure there are no shortages of laboratory materials and quarantine centers.
Ethiopia is also increasing its COVID-19 testing capacity at border points with neighboring countries.
According to figures from the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ethiopia, South Africa and Morocco are among the top African countries that have conducted the highest number of tests for COVID-19.
Ethiopia has officially launched a month-long nationwide testing campaign, which the Ethiopian government says will “determine the next steps to take in the new year” starting on September 11.
As the East African country strengthened the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s involvement has injected much-needed momentum into Ethiopia’s anti-pandemic efforts.
Earlier this month, Chinese tech and social media giant ByteDance donated 100,000 COVID-19 test kits in support of Ethiopia’s anti-COVID-19 pandemic efforts. Final product
