Council of Ministers Passes Resolution on State of Emergency

ENA,April 8/2020 In its 18th extraordinary meeting held today, the Council of Ministers has passed decisions on state of emergency draft bill and various loan agreements. 

The Council largely discussed on the draft bill of state of emergency that enacted on Wednesday to stem the spread and impacts of COVID-19 across the country.

According to a statement by office of the Prime Minister, following a rigorous discussion, the Council of Ministers has decided a state of emergency to come into force from today April 8, 2020.

The state of emergency is expected to set a number of tough restrictions in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19 in Ethiopia.

In other development, the Council of Ministers in its meeting today referred three loan agreements reached with International Development Association (IDA), which is a financial institution that provides concessional loans and grants to developing countries.

The agreements include 41.3 million USD loan for coronavirus emergency while 54.9 million USD will be used for African Centers for Disease Control (African CDC) continental investment project.

The third loan agreement which worth 134.6 million USD is for Ethiopia’s growth and competitiveness programmatic development policy project, the statement indicated.

The ministers referred the draft bills to the House of Peoples’ Representatives for approval.