Abstract
Ethiopia confirmed its 1st case of COVID-19 on Friday 13th February 2020. The burden increased dramatically by August/2020. The conditions that led to this rise were not reviewed.
To exploreCOVID-19 related phenomena in Ethiopia during 2019-2020.
Review of journals, books, and letters to editors, e-sources, news, personal experiences, observations, and communications.
The zoonotic source of SARS- CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome- Coronavirus-2) is not confirmed. The precedent events; and exact mechanism of COVID-19 is not clear. Dynamic models were required on the time line of dynamics of COVID-19; dynamics of infectiousness of COVID-19, and mechanism of transmission of COVID-19. Incubatory carriers might have been missed. Screening based on temperature had been problematic. The time spent in the development of diagnostic test for COVID-19 might have contributed to the early spread.
Uninterrupted flights to China during the epidemic by Ethiopian Airlines as well as uninterrupted domestic flights; IDP (Internally Displaced People); and others put Ethiopia (and other countries) at great risk. Demographic adjustment may not be applicable for Ethiopia due to lack of census which had to be conducted every 10 year, was conducted only in 2007. This adds to the problem of error projection. The impact of HIV (Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus Disease) and war in Ethiopia before 2000 might have had affected people who would be now old age and who would be at the most risk of death. This made the impact of COVID-19 to appear low as revealed by the lower number of COVID-related deaths in Ethiopia. There were also hesitations inconsistencies in case definitions; implementations of quarantine; and burial regulations.
Even though uninhibited foreign flight to China as well as domestic flights; inconsistencies in the implementation of regulations pertaining to COVID-19 have contributed to COVID- 19 emergence in Ethiopia, the absence of census; the demographic impact of HIV and war before 2000 might have made the impact of COVID-19 to appear low as revealed by the lower number of COVID-related deaths in Ethiopia.
Accurate and current evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 in Ethiopia may require the absence of census; demographic consequences of HIV; and war before 2000 into consideration.
Author Contributions
Copyright© 2021
Assegid Sahilu.
License
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Competing interests The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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Introduction
The famous Chinese philosophe Confucius wisely advised “Study the past if you would divine the future”. In 430 B.C. a great plague struck Athens and its great leader was killed. The Athenians sought guidance from the Oracle at Delos who said that the god Apollo was angry and if his cubical altar was doubled in size the plaque would be abolished. The Athenians built a new altar doubling the width, height, and depth. The plague worsened so they went to the Oracle and found that Apollo wanted the volume doubled whereas the Athenians had octupled it. The plague continued until 423 B.C. Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) emerged in early December
Results
By April 15/2020 the zoonotic source of SARS- CoV- 2 had not been confirmed, however, the sequence-based analysis suggested bats as the main reservoir. An article published online April 20/2020 “… Optimal mitigation policies might reduce peak healthcare demand by 2/3 and deaths by half. And resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths …. Drastic revision of R0 was called for. But, instead of focusing on which model is correct, we should accept that “one model cannot answer it all” and that we need more models that answer complementary sub questions that can piece together the jigsaw and halt COVID- 19 spread. As of April 17, 2020, across the 10 countries with most COVID-19 deaths the total number of infected to be approximately 4, 95%CI April 2020 recommendations said that future studies addressing the diagnostic performance of tests for COVID-19 in the Brazilian population were urgently needed. Screening and testing depend on, among others, timing, type of test, site from where specimen was taken, symptoms. Also the time spent in the development of diagnostic/screening test for COVID-19 might have contributed to the early spread. Body temperature screening may miss travelers incubating the disease or travelers concealing fever during travel. It will not be morally acceptable to stop flying to China today because they’ve a temporary problem. Different sources gave different information on the onset of COVID-in Ethiopia, for instance Ethiopia confirmed its 1st case of COVID-19 on Friday 13th February 2020. Nevertheless, between COVID-2019 emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, Although on June 18, Ethiopia appreciated China for “successfully curbing the spread of the COVID-19 disease and for its unyielding support to Ethiopia's fight against the scourge." On 19 June, the Government eased quarantine regulations by announcing that “all travelers arriving at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa carrying a certificate of negative PCR SARS-CoV-2 test, done up to 72 hours before arrival, will be able to follow the 14-day quarantine at home after giving sample upon arrival. Travelers and returnees with no certificate of negative PCR SARS-CoV-2 test results will be quarantined for 7 days in the designated sites, tested, and then able to self-isolate for additional 7 days at home.” Government’s movement restrictions related to COVID-19 have been eased allowing inter-regional movements throughout the country. Although it was reported that Ethiopia had about 107 million people,
Conclusion
The genesis/bat to man transmission had not been confirmed. The precedent events; and exact mechanism of COVID-19 is not clear. Dynamic models and mechanism of transmission of COVID-19 were not complete The time spent in the development of diagnostic test for COVID-19 might have contributed to the early spread. Incubatory carriers might have been missed. Screening based on temperature had been problematic Uninterrupted International; domestic flights and IDP during 2020 had put Ethiopia- and other countries at great risk. Demographic adjustment may not be applicable for Ethiopia due to lack of census which had to be conducted every 10 year was conducted only in 2007 adds to the problem of error projection. The impact of HIV and war in Ethiopia before 2000 might have had affected those who would be now in old age were they to survive, and who would be at most risk of COVID-19 related deaths. COVID-19’s impact on Ethiopia as revealed by the number of deaths appeared lower for possibly for these conditions.