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As Covid-19 cases continued to rise dramatically, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health announced on Sunday that the country will begin manufacturing its own test kits with help from China.
The announcement came as the Horn of Africa nation passed the one million test mark, the third highest on the continent after South Africa and Morocco.
The ministry said preparations for the collaboration with China were going well.
State Vice Minister of Health Dr. Dereje Duguma said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is advising the Chinese government on the matter and that manufacturing will begin in September.
He did not give details of production capacity, but said Ethiopia will completely stop importing test kits.
The country also plans to export the product to other African nations.
Important step
Manufacturing the test kits locally will help Ethiopia, the second most populous nation in Africa with more than 106 million people, increase its national Covid-19 testing capacity.
There are currently 52 coronavirus testing centers in Ethiopia, with more than 20,000 test samples analyzed per day.
As of Sunday, Ethiopia had tested 1,018,847 people across the country.
“As we pass a million tests, I would like to sincerely thank all of our tireless healthcare workers, particularly those who work as sample collectors, our lab technicians, rapid response teams, contact tracers, logistics teams, drivers and all the coordinators and leaders of all. laboratories and facilities across the country, “said Liya Tadesse, Minister of Health.
“I also thank the community for their support in the process and for wearing masks, and for practicing social distancing and hand hygiene to stop the spread.”
According to the coronavirus case tracker Worldometer, Ethiopia had confirmed 58,672 cases of the virus as of September 9, including 21,307 recoveries and 918 deaths. She had 36,447 active cases, 326 of them patients in intensive care units.
