ADDIS ABABA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Wednesday announced the closure of federal courts, except for "urgent" matters, for the next two weeks period in an effort to contain the COVID-19 spread in the country.
"Federal courts will be in partial closure for the next fifteen days. New files will not be accepted for the coming two weeks period, while cases requiring urgent action from courts will be entertained," Meaza Ashenafi, Ethiopia's Supreme Court President, disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The latest move to close courts came on the backdrop of other stringent measures that the East African country introduced over the past few days, including the closing of schools, limiting religious gatherings, postponing large gatherings and sporting events, as well as punishing businesses for unnecessarily price-hike on consumer goods so as to contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
The Ethiopian National Ministerial Committee against COVID-19, during its latest meeting with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to assess developments concerning the spread and containment of the virus, had on late Monday decided to postpone "large gatherings and meetings including sporting events," while small gatherings will not be undertaken without approval from the Ethiopian Ministry of Health.
The ministerial committee, among other things, had also called on religious institutions and places of worship "to limit gatherings," to close all schools with the exception of higher learning institutions. It has also tasked the Ethiopian Ministry of Science and Higher Learning to deliver course contents online with students remaining in university campuses and their dorms.
The committee, which is composed of seven Ethiopian ministers chaired by the Ethiopian Minister of Health Lia Tadesse, passed the decision after "in-depth discussions and considering Ethiopia's current situation and assessed economic impact" that will be undertaken for the next two weeks period.
The high-level committee further assigned the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) to monitor and act against businesses unnecessarily increasing prices on consumer goods as the public embarked on panic-shopping due to coronavirus concerns.
It has also decided the Ethiopian government to allocate budget for the distribution of masks, soap, alcohol solutions and other preventive materials in critical locations.
The ministerial committee also agreed to launch a national hygiene and preventive measures movement, and to be cascaded throughout government institutions with uptake in non-governmental institutions and the public.
The ministerial committee also called on volunteers to support in raising awareness regarding COVID-19 prevention measures, while media institutions also urged to deliver accurate information to the public concerning the virus.
The National Ministerial Committee against COVID-19 passed the latest decisions as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rose to six as of late Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Ethiopian Ministry of Health disclosed that a 59-years-old female British diplomat was tested positive for the coronavirus, eventually becoming the sixth confirmed case in the East African country.
"The British diplomat who recently returned from Dubai was put in isolation on Monday after showing signs of COVID-19," the ministry said, adding that the British diplomat was confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 after laboratory sample tests for COVID-19 turned positive.
Ethiopia, Africa's second populous nation with a total population of about 105 million, reported its first confirmed COVID-19 case, a 48-year-old Japanese national, on Friday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The country also reported four additional cases on Sunday and Monday.
The latest confirmed case is a 34-years-old Ethiopian national who returned from Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on March 12, the minister said.
So far, 117 contacts have been quarantined and their samples collected and tested.
Ethiopia's Minister of Health Liya Tadesse also on Monday stressed that the "important strategies" that were put in place to contain the COVID-19 outbreak is to identify all contacts and monitoring of their health status. "This process is well underway," Tadesse said.
Authorities are also urging the public to take precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus.
In addition to establishing the ministerial-level committee on COVID-19 preparedness and response, the East African country had also commissioned a National Public Emergency Operation Center on Jan. 27 for the same cause. Enditem
