COVID-19: Ethiopia Confirms First Case

Ethiopia has on Friday announced its first case of the new coronavirus, the second to hit East Africa which had so far been spared from the rapidly spreading illness.

Its Health Ministry says that a 48-year-old Japanese man who had arrived in the country on March 4 from Burkina Faso was confirmed to have contracted the virus.

According to the Ministry, the Japanese man is undergoing medical follow-up and is in a stable condition and those who have been in contact with this person are being traced and quarantined.

Ethiopia becomes the 15 country in Africa with a confirmed case of the deadly virus that has swept the globe, infecting more than 130,000 people and killing about 5,000 since it emerged in China in December.