Ethiopia is the latest African nation to confirm cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus within its borders.

The Delta variant is ''more than twice as contagious as previous variants'' and ''might cause more severe illness than previous variants in unvaccinated people", according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ethiopia's Health Minister Liya Tadesse says last week 8,300 people contacted coronavirus while 118 died, putting the total number of dead to close to 5,000.

So far more than 2.5 million people out of Ethiopia's population of 114 million have had a vaccine, according the Ministry of Health. But more doses are needed to meet a target of vaccinating at least 20% of the population.