ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — As the 9 a.m. flight from Dubai arrived at the international airport in Ethiopia’s capital on Wednesday, four government health specialists in face masks and protective glasses scurried to the line of incoming passengers to check their passports. Finding two Ethiopians who had recently been to China, the health workers pulled them aside and took their temperatures, trying to detect a symptom of the coronavirus that has killed more than 500 people and sickened tens of thousands, nearly all in China. The two passengers, their temperatures normal, were allowed to continue on their way — in contrast to some other countries that are now putting all travelers from China in quarantine for two weeks, which is considered the outer limit of the incubation period. With cases of coronavirus spreading around the globe, experts now fear that Africa, with its already fragile health system and heavy traffic to and from China, is particularly vulnerable.

Source: International New York Times February 06, 2020 21:33 UTC