COVID-19
Ethiopia declares state of emergency to curb spread of COVID-19
ADDIS ABABA, April 8 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday declared a state of emergency in the country to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus, his office said on Twitter.
“Considering the gravity of the #COVID19, the government of Ethiopia has enacted a State of Emergency,” Abiy’s office said.
Africa’s second most populous nation at more than 110 million, Ethiopia has recorded 52 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and two deaths.
Authorities have already taken a series of measures to stem the spread including closing schools, banning public gatherings and requiring most employees to work from home.
The prime minister did not mention what additional steps would be taken under the state of emergency.
(Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw; Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Jason Neely)
"Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email [email protected]"
