ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian Federal Ministry of Health on Friday reported 686 new COVID-19 cases over the last 24 hours, taking the national count to 145,548.
The ministry said the COVID-19 death toll stood at 2,177, including six new fatalities recorded over the same period.
With 242 more recoveries registered, the total recovery tally came to 127,864, said the ministry.
Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation, is among the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in Africa, after South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.
The country has so far reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the East African region.
The Ethiopian government recently started a campaign to encourage face mask wearing in open spaces as part of COVID-19 precautionary measures so as to contain the spread of the virus.
The East African nation has so far conducted 2,033,790 COVID-19 tests, including 7,056 new ones during the last 24 hours, said the ministry.
COVID-19 tests conducted in Ethiopia are among the highest in Africa, according to recent figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Enditem
