The Ethiopian government on Thursday said that there are no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the country, according to the state-affiliated FANA Broadcasting.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday said four Ethiopians who were suspected of being infected by coronavirus were placed in isolation following their arrival at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa from Wuhan in China. Wuhan is the centre of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The four, who are students, were isolated after showing signs of fever and a cold. However, they tested negative for flu-like disease but their samples were sent to South Africa for further testing.
“The test results of the 4 suspected cases sent to South Africa have become negative for the virus,” the State Minister of Health Lia Tadesse said.
FANA reported that screening of passengers for the virus has commenced at the airport.
So far, the number of confirmed cases reported overseas only accounts for less than 1 percent of the total number worldwide, according to Wu Zunyou, an expert on epidemiology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
There have been 8,149 confirmed cases in China and over 80 abroad so far while 170 people have been killed by the virus.
