What's the government response timeline for Ethiopia?

28th January In January, the government introduced strict passenger-screening protocols at Addis Ababa’s international airport, East Africa’s largest aviation hub. Ethiopian health officials on Tuesday announced that they have quarantined four passengers from Wuhan, China, at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport after one of them showed symptoms of cold. http://archive.vn/wip/8nRVG https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2020-01-30/african-airports-quarantine-suspect-virus-cases

14th Feb WHO Ethiopia Country Office “Ethiopia now has the capacity to conduct confirmatory laboratory test for COVID-19” http://archive.vn/mrlzZ/image

No measures until March 16 statement by the Prime Minister

No measures until March 16 statement by the PM

13 March ‘The first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Ethiopia on March 13. The MInistry of health immediately began contact tracing and isolating those who tested positive for the virus’ Tweet from Minister of Health: http://archive.vn/LXB6X Source: http://archive.vn/sSYP7

All educational institutions with the exception of higher learning institutions were to be closed according to measures implemented on March 16 by the office of the PM. Source: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

No measures announced

Ethiopia has announced the suspension of sporting events and large gatherings for at least fifteen days, subject to further assessments. The suspension starts from today, Monday March 16, 2020, according to office of the Prime Minister. Sources: https://www.fanabc.com/english/ethiopia-suspends-schools-sporting-events-for-15-days-due-to-coronavirus/ ; https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

Ethiopia has announced the suspension of schools, sporting events and large gatherings for at least fifteen days, subject to further assessments. The suspension starts from today, Monday March 16, 2020, according to office of the Prime Minister. Source: https://www.fanabc.com/english/ethiopia-suspends-schools-sporting-events-for-15-days-due-to-coronavirus/

Government buses are to be availed free of charge to help control crowding in public transport. Special buses designated to take public servants to work. Private transporters are also asked to follow suit. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

Cases have now been recorded, so there is enhanced screening, but quarantine not put in place until March 23. See note on March 23

From the ministry of health and Ethiopian Public Health Institute. For example, see: https://www.facebook.com/ephipage/?ref=nf&hc_ref=ARRual-vb-0bHTsHys3NU-8N4iOccXLMtg1BLfDFVz2GTNcrFJUcdKKzGiDbgiC6Etc

Part of contact tracing efforts, but testing is not comprehensive. See See /web/20200422200746/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/ethiopia-declares-state-emergency-fight-covid-19-200408142519485.html

Screening at airports, but Ethiopia deployed the army to halt the movement of people along all (land) borders, with the exception of incoming essential goods to the country. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

From March 23, all arriving passengers face mandatory quarantine. Ethiopia also announced that it would shut its land borders to nearly all human traffic as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus. UK Government Foregin Travel Advice says “On 23 March the Government of Ethiopia announced the closure of the country’s land borders” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/coronavirus-travel-restrictions-border-shutdowns-country-200318091505922.html https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/entry-requirements

The Ministry of Science and Higher Education announced on 24 March a temporary closure of higher learning institutions. Ethiopia closed all schools a week ago. Source: https://www.fanabc.com/english/ethiopia-closes-universities-over-covid-19/

25 March The Council of Ministers has passed decisions the federal government employees to work from home effective March 25, 2020 until further notification. See: https://www.fanabc.com/english/ethiopia-orders-federal-employees-to-work-from-home-to-mitigate-spread-of-covid-19/

Ethiopia’s northern Tigray regional state on Thursday, March 26, announced a region-wide state of emergency as a means of combating the coronavirus pandemic. Under the 15-day emergency rule: all travels within the state is banned. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/24/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

29 March Part of Tigray state of Emergency: Among other measures, coffee houses, cafes and juice houses shall be closed. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

Note: Tigray state of emergency mandates a slightly different testing framework: anyone who travelled out of Tigray in the past 20 days will be tested. Anyone who enters Tigray after will be tested and put under supervision. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

Four regional states in Ethiopia imposed a ban on transport as part of coronavirus containment measures. The regions are northern Tigray region, Oromia, Amhara and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

Part of contact tracing efforts, but testing is not comprehensive. See See /web/20200422200746/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/ethiopia-declares-state-emergency-fight-covid-19-200408142519485.html

Measures including support to enterprises and job protection in urban areas and industrial parks is under discussion with the donor community but has not been formalised. See: https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#A

The Ethiopian government imposed a five-month State of Emergency in the wake of efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. Students and teachers are banned from meeting and will only be permitted to connect online or by other means that do not contravene social distancing measures. Sources: https://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/ethiopia-declares-state-of-emergency-to-curb-transmission-of-coronavirus/ ; 20200422200746/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/ethiopia-declares-state-emergency-fight-covid-19-200408142519485.html

8 April As of 8th April when a state of emergency was declared schools, bars, cinemas, theatres and nightclubs have been closed. Cafes and restaurants must have no more than three people at a table with tables at least two adult strides apart https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/staying-during-coronavirus

Ethiopian PM declares state of emergency on 8 April. Measures include a ban on all public gatherings (over four people) including religious, commercial, governmental and other gatherings. Details here: https://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/ethiopia-declares-state-of-emergency-to-curb-transmission-of-coronavirus/ Tweet from PM office here: https:/twitter.com/PMEthiopia/status/1247817199223439360

Ethiopian PM declares state of emergency on 8 April. Measures include a ban on any social gatherings of over 4 people. Details here: https://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/ethiopia-declares-state-of-emergency-to-curb-transmission-of-coronavirus/ Tweet from PM office here: https:/twitter.com/PMEthiopia/status/1247817199223439360

March 30: Four regional states in Ethiopia imposed a ban on transport as part of coronavirus containment measures. The regions are northern Tigray region, Oromia, Amhara and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples region. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/20/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/ April 8: Ethiopian PM declares state of emergency on 8 April. Measures include reducing bus and train capacity to 25-50% of normal. Details here: https://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/ethiopia-declares-state-of-emergency-to-curb-transmission-of-coronavirus/ Tweet from PM office here: https:/twitter.com/PMEthiopia/status/1247817199223439360

The PM announced a state of emergency with many lockdown provisions on 8 April, but is quoted in the press as saying a harsher lockdown would be unrealistic given that there are "many citizens who don't have homes" and "even those who have homes have to make ends meet daily." News report: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/ethiopia-declares-state-emergency-fight-covid-19-200408142519485.html Details of state of emergency measures: https://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/ethiopia-declares-state-of-emergency-to-curb-transmission-of-coronavirus/

Landlords are banned from evicting or increasing rents on private tenants residing in their properties for the duration of the State of Emergency https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/coronavirus

Part of contact tracing efforts, but testing is not comprehensive. See /web/20200422200746/ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/ethiopia-declares-state-emergency-fight-covid-19-200408142519485.html

24 April Northern Tigray regional state, the first to declare a COVID-19 state of emergency, have announced a relaxing of the measure. Under this new relaxed regime, civil servants will be returning to work while inter-state movement will resume. Bars and restaurants are allowed to open but to serve customers on a take-away basis. Restrictions remain elsewhere. See: https://www.africanews.com/2020/04/24/ethiopia-s-coronavirus-rules-crowd-ban-free-transport-regulate-essentials-etc/

The state of Tigray is reported on 24 April to have considered relaxing its travel restrictions, but at the same time reported to have extended the restrictions for a further 3 months (initially they were to be 15 days from 26 March). It seems as if the restriction on travel within the state is still in place. https://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/ethiopia-declares-state-of-emergency-to-curb-transmission-of-coronavirus/

"Schools, bars, cinemas, theatres and nightclubs have been closed." https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/coronavirus

"All meetings of four or more people for religious, government, social or political purposes are prohibited." https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/coronavirus

no explicit income support but incentive for not firing: "On April 30, the Council of Ministers approved another set of economic measures to support firms and employment. These include forgiveness of all tax debt prior to 2014/2015, a tax amnesty on interest and penalties for tax debt pertaining to 2015/2016-2018/2019, and exemption from personal income tax withholding for 4 months for firms who keep paying employee salaries despite not being able to operate due to Covid-19." https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

Schools remain closed as of june 4 and there are no plans for reopening as yet https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

On April 8, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency under Article 93 of the constitution, which allows it to impose more stringent measures. Among them, most states have banned inter-regional public transport and public gatherings. https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

No easing of measures as of June 4th https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

n April 8, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency under Article 93 of the constitution, which allows it to impose more stringent measures. Among them, most states have banned inter-regional public transport and public gatherings. Layoffs by private employers have also been forbidden. https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

No evidence of a lockdown or mandate to stay at home but it is reccomended (see below) “Even without a lockdown or a high-tech healthcare system, Ethiopia has managed to beat the coronavirus pandemic by leveraging its community healthcare system, notes the Financial Times. The country, with a population of 110 million, has only 731 cases. The government has leaned heavily on a community-based health system” Source: https://theprint.in/world/how-ethiopia-is-beating-virus-without-lockdown-twitter-fact-checks-trump-other-covid-news/430902/ “Instead of implementing a national lockdown like most other governments, including in Africa, Ethiopia initiated other essential measures in January, well ahead of most developed countries. And its success so far illustrates how African countries can tackle the pandemic effectively despite tight resource constraints.” Source: https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ethiopia-successful-unconventional-covid19-response-by-arkebe-oqubay-2020-05

Schools remain closed as of june 4 and there are no plans for reopening as yet https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

On April 8, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency under Article 93 of the constitution, which allows it to impose more stringent measures. Among them, most states have banned inter-regional public transport and public gatherings. https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

No easing of measures as of June 4th https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

n April 8, the Prime Minister declared a state of emergency under Article 93 of the constitution, which allows it to impose more stringent measures. Among them, most states have banned inter-regional public transport and public gatherings. Layoffs by private employers have also been forbidden. https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19

June 3 Ethiopian web developers have designed multiple virus tracing apps. The COVID-19 Ethiopia app was launched in late May so that the public can self-report cases or alert health authorities to others with symptoms. “The tool can help you manage your records, maintain contact listing and [record] the relationship of the positive person’s contacts in the past 14 days. Unable to code this as comprehensive contact tracing due to the following “?But while the apps are spreading in cities, getting into remote and poor areas of Ethiopia remains a challenge”. Unable to prove that contact tracing is being done comprehensively in a population of over 100 million when many of these live in rural areas. https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/ethiopian-diaspora-champions-digital-apps-fight-against-covid

UNESCO Education tracker shows nationwide closures as of 24th June https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse

As of 24th June Ethiopia remains in its state of emergency (ordered on 8th April for 5 months) under which 4 or more people cannot meet. State of emergency remains in place: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ethiopia-launches-covid-19-antibody-testing/1886239 State of emergency declared here: https://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/ethiopia-declares-state-of-emergency-to-curb-transmission-of-coronavirus/ Tweet from PM office here: https:/twitter.com/PMEthiopia/status/1247817199223439360

The Royal Society of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine: ‘There are remaining challenges however: although Ethiopia has come a long way in the daily number of tests, tests per capita are still low. Testing capacity is low.’ As of June 18 Total tests till date are 202,214, for a population of over 100 million people. http://archive.vn/L0829 https://www.africanews.com/2020/06/20/ethiopia-coronavirus-covid19-hub-updates/

According to UK Government website Foreign Travel Advice updates as of 24th June, Amhara, Oromia, Harari, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples regional states have banned public transport to help limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/safety-and-security

18 June IMF Policy tracker and UK FCO advice indicates that as of June 18th nightclubs and entertainment outlets must remain closed https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19 https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/staying-during-coronavirus

19th June Ethiopia on Friday relaxed a number of COVID-19 emergency preventative measures, including shortening a mandatory 14-day quarantine of arrivals from abroad. Land borders remain closed. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ethiopia-relaxes-covid-19-restrictions/1883289 https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/entry-requirements

Cannot find any evidence of an official mandate to stay home as of 24th June, only of Ethiopia’s unusual approach which notably did not include a lockdown. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ethiopia-successful-unconventional-covid19-response-by-arkebe-oqubay-2020-05

According to UK Government website Foreign Travel Advice updates as of 24th June, Amhara, Oromia, Harari, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples regional states have banned public transport to help limit the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Inter-regional travel bans remain in place in a number of regions. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia/safety-and-security https://www.ethiopiaonlinevisa.com/entry-restrictions/

https://www.ephi.gov.et/images/novel_coronavirus/EPHI_-PHEOC_COVID-19_Weekly-bulletin_11_English_07132020.pdf Ongoing nationwide mandatory school closure

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/ethiopia Self isolate for 14 Days on arrival in specific hotel at travelers own expense

"Enhance response efforts by implementing Community-based Actions and Testing (COMBAT) strategy." https://www.ephi.gov.et/images/novel_coronavirus/EPHI_-PHEOC_COVID-19_Weekly--bulletin_14_English_08032020.pdf

Only 13% of contacts identified. https://www.ephi.gov.et/images/novel_coronavirus/EPHI_-PHEOC_COVID-19_Weekly--bulletin_14_English_08032020.pdf

There are currently no plans for reopening or relaxing of containment measures. See https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19 (web archive link not working).

There are currently no plans for reopening or relaxing of containment measures.

There are currently no plans for reopening or relaxing of containment measures.

Most states have banned inter-regional public transport and public gatherings. In some states, masks are required in all forms of public transportation. There are passenger limits on buses, taxis, etc. exist but vary by region. In general, the number of people permitted in public transportation is 50% of normal capacity.

Note: Since July 13m Ethiopian Airlines resumed international flights (although these remain limited). Also, passengers are subject to a 14-days mandatory self-quarantine at their home. See https://et.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/; https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19 (web archive links not working)