Ethiopia: 4 coronavirus suspects quarantined

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Ethiopia said on Tuesday it has quarantined four people suspected of contracting the novel coronavirus.

This came in a joint press statement by the Ethiopian Health Ministry and Public Health Institute, according to the local broadcaster FANA.

The four suspected cases were identified through a screening conducted at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and they have been quarantined at the Bole Tafa center.

“All four suspects came from Wuhan city in Hubei province in China where the virus is taking the biggest toll and where it was first identified,” it said.

The four patients were diagnosed negative after they had been screened and found to have higher-than-normal body temperatures.

“The specimen from the four suspects have been sent to South Africa for further examination,” the statement said.

Reports of suspected cases of coronavirus in Africa remained a “rumor”, as surveillance and screening were being enhanced across the continent, John Nkengasong, the director of the African Union Center for Disease Prevention and Control, earlier told reporters.

But the director also said there was strong possibility for the virus to surface in Africa given its strong links to China.

There was an alarm after reports came in about identification in Cote d’Ivoire of a suspected coronavirus case on Monday.