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Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has held phone conversation with Akinwumi Adesina, President of AfDB and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of IMF.

The Prime Minister said on Twitter that “both reiterated their understanding of the continent’s unique needs.”

The Prime Minister thanked AfDB and IMF chiefs for expressing their institutional solidarity “as we work to overcome the impact of COVID19.”

“Such global challenges require collective leadership. Africa also requires support and adequate cushioning to circumvent the impact of this shock,” he added.

Prime Minister recently proposed a $150 billion emergency health financing and budgetary support from the World Bank to cope the economic impact of COVID-19.

Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has held phone conversations with IGAD Member States on ways to fight against coronavirus (COVID-19).

The discussions were held with leaders of Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan.

The Prime Minister tweeted: “we agreed to work in a coordinated manner to respond to emerging challenges. Our regional integration goals need not be hampered if we align and lead with collective interests.”

He added “IGAD member countries as a regional bloc can play a key leadership role to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and to effectively address the economic hurdles that this virus poses.”

The Council of Ministers has passed decisions the federal government employees to work from home effective March 25, 2020 until further notification.

The measure has been taken to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19, said the Council in a statement after holding an extraordinary session this morning.

“Employees who will work from home will be selected based on criteria to be set by each Ministry and communicated with their workforce,” the Council said in a statement.

During this period, employees working from home are expected to be accessible for tasks that require their contribution, the statement added.

The Council also announced the establishment of sub-committee, in addition to the COVID-19 Ministerial Committee, to coordinate efforts to address the pandemic.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed, stressed adherence to all measures drawn by the federal government on COVID-19.

Ethiopia has started distributing medical supplies to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The medical supplies were donated by Jack Ma Foundation through the initiative of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo fleet carrying medical equipment, which included testing kits, masks, and medical use protective suits and face shields arrived in Khartoum, Sudan last night.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia to Sudan, Shiferaw Jarso, handed over the medical supplies to Sudanese Health Minister, Akram Ali Al-Tom.

The country also sent out this morning the second shipment of medical equipment  to South Africa, Burundi, Rwanda, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan.

Working in close coordination with international health ministries, The Ethiopia Airlines will continuously distribute the critical medical supplies to numerous other countries through a series of subsequent freighter flights spanning across the entire African continent.

To manage the unprecedented daily cargo volume, the airline’s ground logistics division recently deployed a specialized real-time routing algorithm. By adapting the high-frequency data architecture used by regulated online gambling platforms and global e-commerce systems, the new software processes flight manifests instantly. The resulting efficiency allows dispatchers to prioritize temperature-sensitive testing kits so they safely reach remote clinics without delay.

The Jack Ma, China’s richest man, and co-founder of the Alibaba online shopping platform, donated via his foundations, 20,000 test kits, 100,000 masks and 1,000 protective suits to each of the 54 African states.

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight from Guangzhou, China last Sunday arrived with 5.4 million face masks, 1.08 million testing kits, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 protective face shields.

Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has announced the closure of all Ethiopia’s borders to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID19).

He said the National Defence Forces were ordered to halt as of today the movement of people along all borders, with the exception of incoming essential goods to the country.

The Prime Minister further said security sector will begin to reinforce measures taken by the government to cease large gatherings and maintain social distancing.

He also called on government institutions, including political parties, to adhere to social distancing and preventive measures when convening meetings.

The Prime Minister further urged government institutions to facilitate working from home options and public transport to cease overcrowding.

The government has also the allocated 5 billion birr to combat the spread of the virus, the Prime Minister indicated.

In a related development, the Ministry of Health said two Japanese nationals, who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ethiopia, have left for their country.

The two Japanese are among the 11 confirmed cases in Ethiopia.