Crucial days ahead. Globally, coronavirus has claimed 725 lives with almost all deaths occurring in mainland China. The disease has also been detected in 24 other countries, most times involving people who traveled to China. While to date there have been no confirmed cases in Africa, the risk of an outbreak remains high.
Amidst rising criticism of Ethiopian Airlines’ continued flights to and from China, the airline has cut down its February weekly flights from Addis to Beijing, Chengdu, Guanzhou and Shanghai by 33%. It has also changed its aircrafts on the Addis to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai routes from Boeing 777 and A350 to Boeing 787-8 resulting in a 20%-45% change in capacity on the different flights.
This will be seen as a welcome change given the cancellations of flights to China by other African carriers inclduing
Kenya Airways and Rwandair. Even Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta took the unusual step of urging Ethiopian Airlines to cancel all flights as other airlines stating, “Our worry as a country is not that China cannot manage the disease. Our biggest worry is diseases coming into areas with weaker health systems like ours.”
But this reduction in number of Ethiopian flights and flight capacity might not however be enough to avoid what could be a looming crisis. And many cynics will believe it is more in response to a drop-off in China traffic than safety precautions.
Over the last decade Ethiopian Airlines has become the leading carrier for Africans and others to more destinations on the continent than any other airline. Addis Ababa’s Bole International has also become the primary gateway into Africa because of Ethiopian’s expansion. The airline has the highest number of flights between China and Africa.
Critics at home and abroad believe the Ethiopian government has been reluctant to curtail its Ethiopian Airlines flights to avoid a falling out with the Chinese government due to the deep economic and political ties between both countries. Like China, Ethiopia has a centralized one-party led government with a tight control over the economy.
Skeptics of the continent’s preparedness to address a pandemic such as coronavirus have good reasons for their doubts. WHO said this week it is scaling up preparedness in 13 top priority African countries, including Ethiopia. As of Thursday, only six labs on the continent can actually test for coronavirus. WHO convened medical teams from 15 African nations for an emergency workshop that will […]
