ADDIS ABABA, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia registered 2,097 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 196,621 as of Friday evening, the country's Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, 28 new deaths from COVID-19 were reported across the country, bringing the national death toll to 2,769, said the ministry.
The East African country reported 1,336 more recoveries from the disease, taking the national count to 152,508.
Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the East African region, and the fifth most affected country in Africa in terms of positive cases.
Ethiopia currently has 41,342 active COVID-19 cases, of which 769 are under severe health conditions, according to the ministry.
The latest figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Ethiopia's COVID-19 cases accounted for about 4 percent of the African continent's total confirmed cases.
The East African nation has so far conducted 2,316,739 COVID-19 tests, the ministry said.
Ethiopia started its COVID-19 vaccination campaign earlier this month shortly after the country received its first 2.2 million COVID-19 vaccines from COVAX, a global initiative to ensure quick and equal access to vaccines against the virus. Enditem
