May 15: Eritreao fficially virus-free with 100% recoveries, no death
Eritrea has officially declared itself virus-free after all 39 patients successfully recovered from COVID-19. A Ministry of Health statement said the 39th patient had been discharged from hospital as of today.
As of May 8, there were only two active cases, one of which was discharged on the 11th before today’s final recovery and discharge.
Eritrea follows the likes of Mauritania and Mauritius who have recorded full recoveries. Mauritania have since recorded new cases.
Eritrea is also among a handful of African countries that have not recorded deaths as of May 15, others are Madagascar, Central Africa Republic, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Lesotho, Rwanda and Uganda.
Total confirmed cases = 39
Total recoveries = 39
Total deaths = 0
Active cases = 0
Figures valid as of close of day May 15, 2020
Announcement from Health Ministry – FULL TEXT
One patient has recovered fully after standard tests at the National Laboratory and was released from hospital today.
This result means that all 39 confirmed cases in the country to-date have recovered fully.
But as underlined last week, this important milestone should not induce complacency at this point in time.
Indeed, it is vital that every citizen continue to fully adhere to, and diligently implement, the GOE Guidelines in force until the ongoing task of detailed and comprehensive assessment to gauge the spread of the pandemic in the entire country with full certainty is accomplished.
May 11: Eritrea with one active case
The Ministry of Health announced on Monday another full recovery bringing the tally to 38 out of 39. “One patient has recovered fully after tests at National Laboratory & was released from hospital today;” the May 11 statement read.
With the total number of confirmed cases in country to-date still at 39, Eritrea currently has one active case. Government is however stressing the need to continue observing regulations in force by the task force.
“But this important milestone should not induce complacency. The grave threat of the pandemic has not been eradicated. We are not out of the woods yet.
“In the event, we urge every citizen to continue to fully adhere to, and diligently implement, the GOE Guidelines in force until the ongoing task of detailed & comprehensive assessment to gauge the spread of the pandemic in the entire country with full certainty is accomplished,” it added.
May 10: Landlords waive rents
Landlords in Eritrea have agreed to waive rents, Information Minister Yemane Meskel discloseed on Twitter Sunday morning. The minister said it was the latest trend underlying the country’s rich culture of societal compassion/solidarity.
He did not give any further specifics as to what duration the waiver is to apply. Months back, government banned layoffs and postponed the payment of utility bills. The Minister added that contributions to National COVID-19 fund continued to pour at home and from abroad.
The Horn of Africa nation is currently under a lockdown that according to government has largely been heeded to and accounted for the ability to contain the virus.
Eritrea has not recorded any new cases for weeks now. The current tally stands at 39 cases out of which 37 have recovered with two active cases under treatment. The tally is one of the lowest in a region where tallies are into the 100s.
East Horn of Africa Tallies as of May 10:
Djibouti = 1,189
Sudan = 1,164
Somalia = 997
Kenya = 649
Tanzania = 509
Mauritius = 332
Rwanda = 280
Ethiopia = 210
South Sudan = 120
Uganda = 116
Eritrea = 39
Burundi = 15
Seychelles = 11
May 8: 39 cases, 37 recoveries
Eritrea says it has only two patients with active cases as of May 8. Seven new recoveries brought the tally to 37 with 39 cases to date. The government however remains on high alert to a virus that continues to spread across the world and in the region.
Eritrea has not recorded a new case in weeks, the last was around mid-April. Government also disclosed hat over 3,000 arriving in the country had been quarantined since the index case was reported.
The official Ministry of Health statement read in part: “Seven patients have recovered fully after standard tests at the National Laboratory and were released from hospital today.
“This brings the number of recovered patients to-date to thirty-seven (37). The number of confirmed cases in the country to-date is thirty nine. In spite of its positive features, this achievement should not, however, convey a wrong picture and prompt us to relax our guard.
The statement continues: “The positive preliminary achievement obtained so far is the outcome of the rigorous efforts undertaken to put in quarantine – within the overall GOEstrategy of prevention – all the nationals that returned home in the past two months through air, land and sea travel as well as their immediate contacts in cases where this was necessary.
“(The total number of quarantined individuals exceeds three thousand). The strategy also incorporated the provision of necessary medical treatment to all those who were diagnosed positive for COVID-19.”
The statement urged citizens to continue to fully adhere to, and diligently implement, the GOEGuidelines in force.
April 18, 2020: Eritrea president likens COVID-19 to sudden war
Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki has delivered his first public address on the coronavirus pandemic since the country recorded index case on March 21.
In a message broadcast via public broadcasters, Eri-TV and Radio Dimtsi Hafash, he likened the COVID-19 pandemic to a sudden war that the world least expected and was thus not fully prepared for.
“President Isaias noted that the global threat posed by the pandemic (COVID-19) is analogous to a sudden war, without any parallel in our contemporary times, that has been declared without any warning or prediction by all standards,” Minister of Information posted on Twitter.
He added that in spite of the grave danger that COVID-19 poses, Eritreans home and abroad have to ensure that it does not overwhelm or paralyze them and derail the development programmes embarked on.
He said it was important to combine existing developmental programs with the current combat against the pandemic. He tasked citizens to do all it takes to surmount the current and existing challenges.
As of April 18, the Eritrea COVID-19 situation report had 35 confirmed cases, all currently under treatment – meaning the country had not recorded any recovery or death. A lockdown was imposed weeks back by the COVID-19 Task Force with periodic regulations being issued by the Health Ministry through the information ministry website.
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