Ethiopia launches a new directive banning people with coronavirus cases to enter into the country effective next Monday as part of an effort to curb the spread of the pandemic.
In a joint briefing the Ministry of Health and Federal Attorney General Saturday said wearing face masks is mandatory everywhere in Ethiopia and any person who does not cover mouth and nose in public, market, and transportation hubs will be punished by law up to three years of imprisonment.
The move came following an increase in the rates of COVID-19 in the country where 198,794 cases of the pandemic were reported with a death toll of 2,784 as of Saturday evening.
Under the new rules to be in effect next Monday, public gatherings of more than 50 people will be banned as part of measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, according to the statement.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, is one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic in the continent.
MG/abj/APA