ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia's confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 1,486 after 142 new COVID-19 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 the total of 4,120 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24-hours period, some 142 of them have been tested positive for COVID-19, eventually bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,486 as of the stated period.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Health further indicated that while 140 of the latest confirmed cases are Ethiopian nationals, the remaining two are Portuguese and Djiboutian nationals, with an age range of seven to 78.
The ministry also indicated that from the latest 142 COVID-19 positive cases, some 126 of them were identified in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, which is so far considered as the hotbed of COVID-19 infections in the country.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Health also said that 246 patients who were tested positive for COVID-19 have so far recovered from the virus, in which 15 of the patients recovered during the past 24-hours period.
The ministry also disclosed that three COVID-19 patients -- including 71-year-old female, 46-years-old and 40-years-old males -- succumbed to the disease on Wednesday, eventually bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths in the East African country to 17.
Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation with about 107 million people, confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 13.
The Ethiopian government has instituted a wide range of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
In April, the Ethiopian House of People's Representatives announced a five-month state of emergency to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country. Enditem
