የኢትዮጵያ የሕብረተሰብ ጤና ኢንስቲትዩት

ETHIOPIAN PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE

PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (PHEOC), ETHIOPIA

COVID-19 PANDEMIC 03 September 2020

ISSUE
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE NO

DAILY SITUATION REPORT 219

ETHIOPIA
(Data reported as at 16:30hrs EAT (GMT+3), Wednesday 03 September 2020)

HIGHLIGHTS
• There were 20,778 samples tested for COVID-19 within the last 24 hours.

• Eight-hundred-four (804) COVID-19 cases are detected among the tested people bringing the total
confirmed cases to 55,213.

• Three-hundred-eighty (380) cases recovered today which brings the total COVID-19 recovered cases to
20,699 in the country.

• Ten• (10) new COVID-19 related deaths occurred today bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to
856.

• There are 4,299 contacts of confirmed cases identified today.

• A total of 14, 819 contacts of confirmed cases have been tested positive so far.

• There are 306? patients in severe condition in the treatment centers.

COVID-19 NATIONAL UPDATE

4,734 215,440 219,214 165,406

PASSENGERS UNDER RUMORS/ALERTS RECEIVED CONTACTS OF THE SUSPECTED CASES
MANDATORY QUARANTINE AND INVESTIGATED CONFIRMED CASES DETECTED

970,591 55,213
TOTAL LABORATORY TESTS TOTAL 20,699 856
CONFIRMED CASE TOTAL RECOVERED TOTAL DEATH
DONE
 COVID-19 GLOBAL UPDATE
Access link for WHO COVID-19 monitoring dashboard: https://covid19.who.int/

Fig. 1: Summary of global COVID-19 situation as of September 03, 2020

Fig. 2: Summary of COVID-19 situation in Africa as of September 03, 2020
MAJOR COVID-19 PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE EFFORTS IN ETHIOPIA

BACKGROUND
Ethiopia activated its IMS under the national PHEOC. The WHO and other partners are currently supporting in
scaling up preparedness efforts and implementation of related recommendations suggested by the IHR Emergency
Committee. Different layer so coordination platform revitalized and the PHEOC is working collaboratively with
various agency representative, Partners, Embassies, hospitality sector, Industrial parks and others. There is strong
communication and updating from other countries through IHR-NFPs. The sub-national level is well engaged in the
preparedness and response efforts. Joint regular media briefing sessions are being conducted. The first confirmed case
of COVID-19 was detected on 13th March 2020, this was a day after WHO declared COVID-19 as a pandemic.

COORDINATION and COLLABORATION:

• The national PHEOC is functioning 24/7 to coordinate the response efforts. During the night shift the critical
functions are maintained by the assigned night duty staff.
• Daily morning briefing of the IMS core staff and agency representatives is being conducted on daily basis.

EPIDEMIOLOGY and LABORATORY SURVEILLANCE:

Confirmed COVID-19 cases, recovery and death
• Today 804 cases are newly detected bringing the total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases to 55,213 in the
country.
• Today there are 380 newly recovered cases bringing the total number of COVID-19 recovered cases to 20,283.

Table 1: Summary of laboratory tests, new cases and deaths nationally as of September 03, 2020
Regions/City Admin # Tests conducted # of New Cases Test positivity rate # of New deaths
Tigray 800 134 17% 0
Oromia 3357 141 4% 0
Sidama 377 52 14% 0
SNNPRS 2802 86 3% 1 (from HF)
Benshangul Gumuz 449 1 0% 0
Afar 187 11 6% 0
Gambella 502 6 1% 0
Amhara 7176 50 1% 2 (from HF)
Dire Dawa 438 10 2% 1 (from HF)
Harari 594 28 5% 0
Addis Ababa 3652 258 7% 6 (from HF)
Somali 444 27 6% 0
Total 20778 804 4% 10 (all from HF)
Fig. 3: Summary of COVID-19 situation in Ethiopia as of September 03, 2020
 Fig. 4: Trend of COVID-19 confirmed cases, death and recovery by date of reporting till September 03, 2020.

Laboratory test:
• 20,778 laboratory samples were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours; 804 (3.87%) positives and 19,974
(96.13%) negatives were detected.
• As of September 03, 2020, a total of 970,591 samples has been tested for COVID-19 by laboratories in the country.
 Fig. 5: Summary of Laboratory testing related activity as of September 03, 2020.

Contact tracing and follow-up:

• As of September 03, 2020:
o A total of 219,214 contacts of confirmed cases have been identified. Of these 4,299 contacts are identified
today.
o 136,115 (62.09%) have completed 14 days follow-up, while 6,179 contacts are still on follow-up.
o Only 373 (0.17%) contacts developed COVID-19 suggestive symptoms. Of these, 337 (90.35%) were tested
positive.
o Overall, 14,819 (6.76%) of the contacts (symptomatic plus asymptomatic) were tested positive, which are
among the currently existing confirmed positive cases.

Fig. 6: Summary of COVID-19 cases contact tracing update in Ethiopia as of September 03, 2020
Rumors collection and verification from all sources
• As of September 03, 2020:
o 215,440 rumors/alerts have been received and investigated. Of these, 9,597 rumors are reported today.
o 165,406 (76.78%) of the rumors/alerts have fulfilled the suspected case definition. Of these, 8,557 are
reported today.
• On September 03, 2020, a total of 11,685 calls were received and responded via toll-free call centers. Of these, 9,866
(84.43%) of the calls were COVID-19 related calls and 58 rumors were received.

Fig. 7: Summary of rumors collection and verification as of September 03, 2020

PASSENGERS SCREENING:
• A total of 1,006,272 travelers have arrived into the country and screened for COVID-19 since January 24, 2020.
Among these 421,975 (41.93%) arrived via Bole International Airport while 584,297 (58.07%) entered though other
port of entries.
• In the last 24 hours, 658 passengers have arrived via Bole International Airport and 3,971 people through other point
of entries.
• A total of 73 alerts are detected during passengers screening so far.
• Follow-up of the quarantine implementation ongoing for passengers coming from abroad and returnees from
different countries.
• Health screening for arriving international passengers and returnees are ongoing.

Quarantined Passengers and Returnees Related Activities:

• As of September 03, 2020:
o A total of 4,734 people (307 in hotels in Addis Ababa, 127 in Addis Ababa University and 4,300 in regions)
are under mandatory quarantine at designated hotels and selected sites in the country.
o 21,326 (127 new) have completed 14 days follow-up and discharged.
o There was no alert case reported today among the people under quarantine.
 Fig. 8: Summary of people under mandatory quarantine in Addis Ababa as of September 03, 2020

CASE MANAGEMENT AND INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL (IPC):

• There are total of 34,072 active cases in the country currently.
• Today there are 380 newly recovered cases bringing the total number of COVID-19 recovered cases to 20,663.
• There are 306 patients in severe condition and all the other patients are on medical care in stable condition.
• Today 94 suspected cases are admitted.
• 127 initially suspected cases are discharged after laboratory test became negative.
• There are 1,470 suspected cases in the isolation centers waiting for laboratory results.

Home Based Isolation and Care:

• Since Home Based Isolation and Care (HBIC) is started in Ethiopia:

o A total 10,156 COVID-19 confirmed cases are followed in the HBIC.
o 3,533 of them have recovered in the HBIC.
o 6,637 cases are currently on HBIC.
o 2 COVID-19 related deaths have occurred in the HBIC.
o 75 cases have been transferred from treatment centers to HBIC.
o 111 cases have been transferred from HBIC to treatment centers.

LOGISTICS, ADMINISTRATION AND RELATED ACTIVITIES:

• There is ongoing distribution of PPE, Viral Transport Media, swabs, pharmaceuticals and other medical
supplies to quarantine, isolation and treatment centers.
RISK COMMUNICATION:
• Press release on daily national COVID-19 situation shared for the public through media.
• There is ongoing media monitoring on COVID-19 related issues.
• Ethiopian Public Health Institute announced launch of a new SMS service system that help people who
conducted COVID 19 test know their results via their cell phone.
• Video link on the COVID-19 dead body care at the health facility:
https://www.facebook.com/EPHIEthiopia/videos/1261449097536299/

HEALTH EVIDENCE SUMMARY AND COVID-19 UPDATES:

Public Health Advice:
• For any individual confirmed to have COVID-19 and who is candidate for Home Based Isolation and Care:
o Properly isolate from other family members.
o Take full responsibility in prevention of transmission
o Strictly adhere to the National Directive of Home-Based Isolation& Care.
o Provide reliable information during regular follow up either by phone or home visit.
o Report to nearest health facilities/follow up team in case of any emergency, appearance of new symptoms or
worsening of existing symptoms.
• The numbers of COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly due to the presence of community transmission. Anyone of
us can be the next person to acquire COVID-19, but we can prevent it if we act now. Therefore, let us support one
another in this pandemic reminding others of the recommended preventions could save their lives.
• Considering the increase in transmission of COVID-19, the EPHI would like to advise the public to strictly adhere to
all precautionary measures. Accordingly, we should:
o Maintain physical distancing.
o Wash our hands with water and soap frequently.
o Stay at home and avoid mass gatherings.
o Cover our mouth and nose with face/cloth mask when going outdoors.
 National/Regional Official websites, social media pages and toll-free hotline for COVID-19
information
MOH/EPHI/Region
Ethiopian Public Health
Institute Main Website
Ethiopian Public Health
Institute COVID-19 Website
Ethiopian Public Health
Institute Facebook Page
Ethiopian Public Health
Institute Twitter Page
Ethiopian Public Health
Institute Telegram Channel
Ethiopian Public Health
Institute YouTube Channel
Ministry of Health, Ethiopia
Website
Ministry of Health, Ethiopia
Facebook Page
Afar Regional Health Bureau
Amhara Regional Health
Bureau
Benishangul Gumuz Regional
Health Bureau
Gambela Regional Health
Bureau
Harari Regional Health Bureau
Oromia Regional Health
Bureau
Somali Regional Health
Bureau
SNNP Regional Health Bureau
Tigray Regional Health Bureau
Sidama PHEM
Dire Dawa city Administration https://www.facebook.com/Dire-Dawa-
Health Bureau
Addis Ababa City
Administration Health Bureau
Ethiopian COVID-19
monitoring platform
Facebook page or Twitter/telegram/YouTube Toll- Email address
Channel free
hotline
https://www.ephi.gov.et/ 8335 ephieoc@gmail.com
https://covid19.ephi.gov.et/
https://www.facebook.com/ephipage/
https://twitter.com/EPHIEthiopia
https://t.me/EthPHI
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvvTzeY-
IJiQfEFBULH9Mkw
www.moh.gov.et 952
https://www.facebook.com/EthiopiaFMoH/
https://www.facebook.com/afarrhb.org/ 6220 afarpheoc@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/Amhara-Healthbureau- 6981 aphieoc@gmail.com
682065755146948/
https://www.facebook.com/Benishangul-Gumuz- 6016 bgpheoc@gmail.com
Health-Bureau-1676282159265517/
https://fb.me/gambellaregionhealthbureau 6184 gambellapheoc@gmail.co
m
https://www.facebook.com/Harari-Regional- 6864 hrhbpheoc@gmail.com
Health-Bureau-1464182130355007/
https://www.facebook.com/OromiaHealth/ 6955 oromiapheoc@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/srhbdotcom/… 6599 somalipheoc@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/snnprhealthbureau/?ref 6929 snnppheoc@gmail.com
=br_rs
https://www.facebook.com/tigrayrhb/ 6244 tigraypheoc@gmail.com
sidamapheoc@gmail.com
6407 ddpheoc@gmail.com
Administration-Health-Bureau-
1371606266279524/
https://www.facebook.com/aahb.gov.et/ 6406 aapheoc@gmail.com
https://www.covid19.et/

Global Official Sources of COVID-19 Updates and Evidence:

Source Link
WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) dashboard https://covid19.who.int/
Africa CDC Dashboard, COVID-19 Surveillance https://au.int/en/covid19
Dashboard
WHO COVID-19 daily situation reports https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-
2019/situation-reports
WHO Academy mobile learning app for health https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.who.WHOA
Ongoing and completed COVID-19 studies listed https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/who_table
on the World Health Organization's International
Clinical Trials Registry Platform (WHO ICTRP)

Web-Search Summary: COVID-19 Related Health Evidence:

Articles/Comment/
Correspondence/ Editorials
Pathophysiology of COVID-19-
associated acute respiratory
distress syndrome: a multicentre
prospective observational study
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-
2600(20)30370-2
Prevalence of phenotypes of acute
respiratory distress syndrome in
critically ill patients with COVID-
19: a prospective observational
study
https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-
2600(20)30366-0
Infectivity of Human Olfactory
Neurons to SARS-CoV-2: A Link
to Anosmia
https://ssrn.com/abstract=366836
9 permissiveness to infection between male and female neurons. The infrequent
Guide
Considerations for quarantine of
individuals in the context of
containment for coronavirus
disease (COVID-19)
Home care for patients with
suspected or confirmed
COVID-19 and management of
their contacts
Global COVID-19 Clinical
Platform: Rapid core case report
form (CRF)
Global COVID-19 Clinical
Platform: Pregnancy Case
Report Form (CRF)
Interim Considerations for
Health Departments for SARS-
CoV-2 Testing in Homeless
Shelters and Encampments
WHO COVID-19 Preparedness
and Response Progress Report –
1 February to 30 June 2020
Reagent calculator for portal
Water, sanitation, hygiene, and
waste management for SARS-
CoV-2, the virus that causes
COVID-19 (Interim guidance)
Considerations for
implementing mass treatment,
active case‐finding and
population-based surveys for
Summary
• Patients with COVID-19-associated ARDS have a form of injury that, in
many aspects, is similar to that of those with ARDS unrelated to COVID-19.
Notably, patients with COVID-19-related ARDS who have a reduction in
respiratory system compliance together with increased D-dimer
concentrations have high mortality rates.
• In this exploratory analysis of 39 patients, ARDS due to COVID-19 was not
associated with higher systemic inflammation and was associated with a
lower prevalence of the hyperinflammatory phenotype than that observed in
historical ARDS data. This finding suggests that the excess mortality
observed in COVID-19-related ARDS is unlikely to be due to the
upregulation of inflammatory pathways described by the parsimonious
model.
• Our findings strengthen the reported association of SARS-CoV-2 infection
with loss of smell in individuals infected with the virus. Our results suggest
that olfactory neurons, originating from both genders, were highly permissive
to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Moreover, there were no differences in
susceptibility of other undifferentiated or partially differentiated neurons
suggest it would be unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 infects other mature human
brain neurons since, after birth, they have mostly completed neurogenesis.
Our studies confirm the neurotropism of the SARS-CoV-2 to olfactory
neurons. Preliminary observations indicate that viral entry is mediated by the
TMPRSS2 receptor.
Link
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/considerations-for-quarantine-of-
individuals-in-the-context-of-containment-for-coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/home-care-for-patients-with-suspected-
novel-coronavirus-(ncov)-infection-presenting-with-mild-symptoms-and-
management-of-contacts
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Clinical_CRF-2020.4
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Pregnancy_CRF-
2020.5
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/homeless-
shelters/testing.html
https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/who-covid-19-preparedness-and-
response-progress-report---1-february-to-30-june-2020
https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/reagent-calculator-for-portal
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/water-sanitation-hygiene-and-waste-
management-for-the-covid-19-virus-interim-guidance
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-neglected-tropical-
diseases-2020-1
neglected tropical diseases in
the context of the COVID-19
pandemic
Safe Eid al Adha practices in https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/safe-eid-al-adha-practices-in-the-context-
the context of COVID-19: of-covid-19-interim-guidance
Interim guidance
Detention Center COVID19 FmoH, july-2020
Prevention and Management
Interim Guide
(Volume 1)
NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE http://www.moh.gov.et/ejcc/sites/default/files/2020-
COVID-19 MANAGEMENT 04/COVID%2019%20Handbook%20for%20health%20professionals%20FMOH%
HANDBOOK (EFMoH) 202020.pdf
Resources and Guidance https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/open-america/contact-tracing-
(CDC) resources.html
 8335 / 952

Call-Centers
FOR MORE INFO and
ALERT NOTIFICATION on
COVID-19

The above presented Quick Reader (QR) code takes you to a portal that you can access updates and all COVID-19 related information available
(https://www.ephi.gov.et/index.php/public-health-emergency/novel-corona-virus-update)

DISCLAIMER
Figures presented in this situation report are pulled from official releases of the World Health Organization,
Other sources from the web, as well as report compiled by the National Incidence Response Team

PREPARED BY
Fantu Lombamo (MD, MPH) – Planning Section, Situation Unit Lead
Negusse Yohannis (PhD in Statistics) – Planning Section, Situation Unit Member

CONTRIBUTORS
Zelalem Kebede (MPH) - Planning Section, Situation Unit Member

EDITED and REVIEWED BY

Shambel Habebe (Planning Section Chief)
Zewdu Assefa (COVID-19 Response Deputy Incident Manager)
Aschalew Abayneh (EPHI DDG and COVID-19 Response Incident Manager)

FOR MORE INFORMATION and NOTIFICATION

Web: www.ephi.gov.et
Follow us on Twitter: @EPHIEthiopia
Call: 8335/952 (TOLL FREE LINE) or 011 276 5340
Email: ephieoc@gmail.com or phemdatacenter@gmail.com

ETHIOPIAN PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE

National Public Health Emergency Operation Center
Center for Public Health Emergency Management
Swaziland Street
P.O Box 1242
Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA