Cleaning staff disinfect for a metro carriage as a preventive measure against the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 20, 2020. PHOTO | MICHAEL TEWELDE | AFP
In Summary
- The homeless people in Addis Ababa live at sidewalks in the street or at crowded shelters.
- For such group of people, once virus begins to spread, it will be difficult to avert it.
- It will also undermine all the preventive efforts which had been undergoing to slow the spread of Covid-19.
By TESFA-ALEM TEKLE
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ADDIS ABABA
One day after Ethiopia declared a five-month long state of emergency, the country on Thursday began activities to rehabilitate thousands of homeless people in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19 among the homeless living outdoors.
The move comes as the horn of Africa’s nation lately starts to report high numbers of Covid-19 cases daily since the country announced its first Coronavirus case on 13 March.
On Friday, Ethiopia has reported nine new Covid-19 cases; record-high number recorded so far in one day, since the country announced first virus case on 13 March.
The additional cases have brought the total number of confirmed Covid-19 patients in Ethiopia to 65.
The latest rehabilitation programme for the homeless is part of the country’s nation-wide response measures to avert the spread of the pandemic