It was with a sense of despondency that the brand new minister of Health, Lia Tadesse (MD), gave a press briefing on the first confirmed case of the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Ethiopia on March 13, 2020. Coming on the heels of a global panic over the crisis, it was briefly a time for solemnity.

The person was a 48-year-old Japanese male that had been visiting, holding meetings and travelling in Ethiopia for nine days. He had flown in from Burkina Faso, which recorded sub-Saharan Africa’s first Coronavirus case and death from the disease. It is not clear where he contracted the virus or from whom. But 117 individuals who had come into contact with this individual were traced; and of these, three more additional cases were confirmed, including an Ethiopian.

It was an apparent escalation to be taken note of; but no meaningful response would come from the government until days later.

Two days later, an Ethiopian who travelled from Dubai and had been put in isolation tested positive. It was followed a day later by a UK national who came from the same country. By last Friday, Coronavirus cases had jumped to nine - in just a week of the first announcement being made.

After public outcry about at least three gatherings - including a running event - held in the capital last weekend, even after the Minister announced the presence of the virus in the country, the authorities had begun taking cautionary measures. Large meetings and gatherings were postponed, lower learning institutions remain closed for at least two weeks, and hygiene and awareness campaigns were unveiled. Better late than never.

The administration of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) also began the supply of preventive materials and monitoring hoarding and hiking of prices of goods. Considering how many have been affected, this may seem a reasonable and prudent set of actions to take.

But taking into consideration how far more sophisticated countries severely underestimated and allowed the virus to nearly cripple their economies and the social lives of individuals, what Ethiopia is doing is not enough. It is all the more clearer when the experiences of countries that are currently suffering the most are considered.

Italy is the worst hit by the pandemic, having the highest ratio of death, with eight percent mortality. The first reported cases were on January 31, 2020. It was two Chinese tourists that tested positive for the disease. It did make the headlines, since the virus had already caused deaths and was spreading in China’s Hubei Province. But neither the first confirmed case, the first cluster of evidence on February 21, nor the first death a day after sounded the alarm on how devastating this was going to be.

A virus that is four-fifths of the time mild and believed to be more infectious than the flu is transmitted through tiny droplets remaining in the air. By February 23, 150 Italians had contracted it. A week later, a staggering 1,694 cases were reported. The week after that it was almost 6,000.

Panic set in, especially once Italy quarantined the region of Lombardy and 14 provinces in the northern part of the country. On March 9, the entire nation was put under quarantine. Retail services, except pharmacies and grocery stores, were closed and restrictions on movement were enforced. Countries such as Italy, Spain and the United States could have acted earlier, as Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong did. Earlier their authorities in the latter countries might have been judged for overreacting. In time they had little to regret.

It is indispensable to contain the spread of the virus as quickly as possible. Nonetheless, understanding the outbreak only through the prism of a disease affecting people is to lose sight of the full potential impact on society. The consequences of the epidemic of CODIV-19 is about the stretching of the healthcare system's capacity. This is not to mention how intensive care unit (ICU) beds, medications and medical equipment such as respirators and ventilators ran out.

The public healthcare systems are overwhelmed by a sudden surge in the number of people needing help, medical professionals would have no choice but to make the weighty decision to choose to treat patients with the highest chances of survival. The rest get sent home, awaiting a miracle.