The COVID-19 pandemic in Eritrea is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached Eritrea on 21 March 2020. The government introduced strict social distancing measures by end of March 2020 which was enforced until April 2021. In April 2021 the government relaxed restrictions and opened up schools, resumed commercial flights and public transportation. Mask and social distancing guidelines are still in place.
Background
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.
The case fatality rate for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.
Timeline
March 2020
On 21 March, the first case in Eritrea was confirmed in Asmara; the index case was an Eritrean national arriving from Norway. There were 15 confirmed cases in March. All 15 remained active at the end of the month.
April to June 2020
Eritrea announced a 21-day lockdown beginning April 2. That lockdown was subsequently extended further. On 9 April, Eritrea recorded two new cases, two Eritreans aged 30 and 62, both of whom had returned to the country before the flight ban, thus bringing the country's total infections to 33. The total number of confirmed cases reached 39 in April, 24 more than in March. 26 of the 39 patients recovered in April, leaving 13 active cases at the end of the month. On 15 May, the Eritrean Health Ministry confirmed that the 39th and final case of COVID-19 in the country had fully recovered. For the rest of the month there were no active cases. On 13 June, a further 31 positive cases were confirmed, 30 of whom had returned from Sudan, and one from Ethiopia. During the month there were 164 positive cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases since the start of the outbreak to 203. 53 patients recovered in June, leaving 150 active cases at the end of the month.
July to December 2020
In July there were 76 new cases, in August 39, in September 57, in October 88, in November 114, and in December 743. The total number of cases stood at 279 in July, 318 in August, 375 in September, 468 in October, 577 in November, and 1320 in December. The number of recovered patients grew from 53 to 225 in July, 284 in August, 341 in September, 412 in October, 498 in November, and 676 in December, leaving 54 active cases at the end of July, 34 at the end of August as well as at the end of September, 51 at the end of October, 79 at the end of November, and 641 at the end of December. The country announced its first COVID-19-related death on 22 December, followed by two more deaths on 31 December.
January to December 2021
There were 815 new cases in January, 712 in February, 438 in March, 388 in April, 421 in May, 1015 in June, 538 in July, 95 in August, 80 in September, 112 in October, 524 in November, and 653 in December. The total number of cases stood at 2135 in January, 2847 in February, 3285 in March, 3673 in April, 4094 in May, 6009 in June, 6547 in July, 6642 in August, 6722 in September, 6834 in October, 7358 in November, and 8011 in December. The number of recovered patients increased to 1594 in January, 2253 in February, 3029 in March, 3496 in April, 3853 in May, 5512 in June, 6444 in July, 6590 in August, 6635 in September, 6732 in October, 7096 in November, and 7746 in December, leaving 534 active cases at the end of January, 587 at the end of February, 246 at the end of March, 165 at the end of April, 227 at the end of May, 474 at the end of June, 68 at the end of July, 14 at the end of August, 45 at the end of September, 57 at the end of October, 202 at the end of November, and 189 at the end of December. The death toll rose to 7 in January, 10 in March, 12 in April, 14 in May, 23 in June, 35 in July, 38 in August, 42 in September, 45 in October, 60 in November, and 76 in December. Modeling carried out by the WHO's Regional Office for Africa suggests that due to under-reporting, the true cumulative number of infections by the end of 2021 was around 1.6 million while the true number of COVID-19 was around 1130.