Addis Ababa, January 24, 2020 (FBC) –Ethiopia has started screening of passengers for Novel Coronavirus at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.
In a press conference issued for local media today, the Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) said the country is taking various preventive measures against the virus (2019-nCoV.).
Among the measures being taken by the country include checking the temperatures of passengers arriving at the airport, in addition to raising awareness of the virus.
The new coronavirus outbreak has killed 26 people and infected at least 830 in China.
Chinese officials have said the virus likely originated from wild animals at a seafood market in the city but it has since spread to several countries around Asia and beyond.
Cases have also been confirmed in the US, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that the respiratory illness, which has been traced to the city of Wuhan, is an emergency in China but said it is too early to declare it a global health emergency.