Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 25,118 after 943 new positive cases were confirmed on Wednesday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health said. This is so far the highest daily increase in the Horn of Africa country. The Ethiopian Ministry of Health, in a statement issued on Wednesday, revealed that from a total of 14, 540 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24 hours, some 943 of them tested positive, eventually bringing the total number of positive cases to 25,118. 23 more patients succumbed to illnesses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the East African country to 463, according to the ministry. The ministry further said 11,034 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 had so far recovered, including 338 in the last 24 hours period. According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, a total of 13,619 COVID-19 patients are still undergoing medical treatment, out of which 178 are in severe condition. Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation with about 107 million people, confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 13. The East African country had so far conducted some 535,431 COVID-19 medical tests, according to the ministry. Amid the rapid spread of the virus across the East African country, the Ethiopian government as well as healthcare experts and analysts mainly attribute the recent spike of COVID-19 pandemic to the unrest that affected the East African country earlier this month. Amid Ethiopia's rapid COVID-19 infection rate in recent weeks, Ethiopia is intensifying its mass COVID-19 testing campaign. Earlier this month, the East African country officially launched a nationwide month-long testing campaign, which the Ethiopian government said "will determine the next steps to undertake in the new year," which will start on September 11. The Ethiopian government is currently mobilizing resources to ensure there's no shortage of laboratory materials and quarantine centers. Ethiopia is also boosting its COVID-19 testing capacity at border points with neighboring countries.
