Addis Ababa, Mar 4 (IANS): Ethiopia registered 1,161 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 161,974 as of Wednesday evening, the country's Ministry of Health said.

The ministry said five new deaths from the coronavirus were reported across the country during the same period, bringing the national death toll to 2,391, the Xinhua news reported.

The East African country reported 364 more recoveries, taking the national count of Covid-19 recoveries to 136,443.

Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has so far reported the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the East Africa region.

According to the ministry, Ethiopia currently has some 23,138 active Covid-19 cases, of which 398 are said to be under severe health conditions.

According to the latest figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Ethiopia's Covid-19 cases accounted for about 4 per cent of the African continent's total confirmed cases.

The Ethiopian government has been urging the public to implement Covid-19 precautionary measures to contain the spread of the virus.

The East African nation has so far conducted 2,152,739 Covid-19 medical tests, the ministry said.