Ethiopia’s ministry of health on Sunday announced the country’s first deaths as a result of Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus.
The two deaths were announced one hour apart by Health Minister Lia Tadesse.
Dr Lia said the first victim, a 60-year-old woman, had been admitted at an intensive care unit (ICU) at Eka Kotebe hospital for five days before she died.
The second victim, a 56-year-old Ethiopian man, had been in ICU for three days.
Ethiopia currently has 43 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and recorded two deaths.
Ethiopia confirmed its first case on 12 March. It has since closed all land borders, ordered most government employees to work from home and released about 4,000 prisoners as part of measures to curb the spread of the virus.
