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The Ethiopian Parliament has today approved the state of emergency declared to fight coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Council of Ministers on Wednesday declared a five-month state of emergency to avert the spread of the virus and reduce its impact on the country.

Ethiopia has so far 56 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with two deaths and four recoveries.

The Parliament has also endorsed a 7-member state of emergency inquiry board with a majority vote, 12 against and 5 abstentions.Members of the board are:

• Petros Woldesenbet –Chairperson
• Tesfaye Daba- Deputy Chairperson
• Mrs Fantaye Wendim- Board member
• Shikuri Mehadin- Board member
• Dr Biruk Lapiso- Board member
• Mrs Momina Mohammed –Board member
• Beshala Gemech- Board member

The Parliament has also unanimously approved a 28 billion birr additional budget.

It further endorsed more than $82m loan and grant agreement signed with the International Development Association (IDA) for Ethiopia’s COVID19 emergency response project.

The Ministry of Health has confirmed one new case of coronavirus (COVID19) out of the 294 samples that were tested over the past 24 hours.

This brings the total COVID19 cases in Ethiopia to 56.

The new case is a 43-year-old Ethiopian born Canadian, with a travel history from Canada to Dubai and then to Addis Ababa, according to the Ministry.

Ethiopia has so far registered two deaths and four recoveries from the virus.

Office of the Prime Minister has briefed Addis Ababa-based diplomatic community on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia.

In a video briefing, Billene Seyoum, from the Press Secretariat Unit of the Prime Minister Office, highlighted the containment and prevention activities undertaken by the government so far.

Among the measures include stopping large gatherings and sporting events, closure of schools and fourteen-day mandatory quarantine for all travellers arriving to Ethiopia.

Cessation of over 80 flights of Ethiopian airlines, temporary closures of bars, night clubs and land borders were also among the measures undertaken after the officially announcement of the positive case in the country, she said.

Cognizant to the global financial difficulties that COVID19 has created, a number of key financial measures have also been undertaken by the government, she said.

Some of the measures, according to Billene, include tax exemption to the import of materials and equipment related to the coronavirus containment.

The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has also availed 15 billion birr liquidity for private banks to enable them to provide debt relief and additional loans to their customers in need, she stated.

The country has also been playing a leadership role over the past weeks particularly putting forth a three point proposal to the G20 countries, she said.

The proposal includes the continent wide support of $150 billion to withstand the financial damages that COVID19 is going to pose, according to her.

Ethiopia has so far reported 52 confirmed cases of COVID19, with two deaths and four recoveries.

Following the rise of COVID 19 infections, the Council of Ministers today declared a 5-month state of emergency in accordance to Article 93 of the Constitution.

According to the latest figures from Johns Hopkins University, more than 1.4 million cases of coronavirus have been registered globally.

More than 83,000 people have died and more than 308,000 have recovered from the virus.

Gedu Andargachew, Minister of Foreign Affairs has received monetary and in-kind donations from different organizations to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accordingly, the Minister received a $100,000 donation from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) staff members and $1m from Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund (EDTF).

Similarly HOPE Enterprises donated 4.5m birr in-kind, Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara (ORDA) 2m birr and VSO in Ethiopia 1.2 m birr.

Furthermore, Pathfinder International contributed 541.808 birr, “Ahun Fiker” Organization 400,000 birr, ’Ras Agez’’ (Women self-help group) 300,000 birr and Organization for Welfare and Development 100,000 birr.

On the occasion, the Foreign Minister appreciated the initiative taken by all of the organizations to be part of the joint approach of fighting the pandemic.

He also underscored that such donations would add muscles to the government and people of Ethiopia in their fight to limit the spread of the virus and minimize its effects.

Ethiopia and UK have signed a £24 million grant agreement today.

The agreement was signed by Admasu Nebebe, State Minister of Finance and Dr. Christian Rogg, Head of UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) Ethiopia.

The grant will be used for a project strengthening the economies of host and refugee populations in Ethiopia’s Somali and Gambella regional states.

The overall goal of the project is to improve the quality of life and reduces the vulnerability of refugees, host communities and migrants.

It will directly benefit 200,000 refugees and host community members, according to the Ministry of Finance.