Ethiopia surpassed 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, with state health officials reporting 459 more cases and thirteen additional deaths linked to the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Health in a statement issued revealed that from a total of 7,319 medical tests that were conducted within the last 24 hours, 459 of them tested positive for COVID-19. The new numbers bring the country’s total counts to 20,336 reported cases and 356 fatalities.

The daily number of infected now fluctuates between 500 and 400 people, compared to barely a hundred a few weeks ago. A challenge for the health capacities of this country. “We have an epidemic in the ascending phase, especially in Addis Ababa, which is a cause for concern,” the Ethiopian Minister of Health, Dr. Lia Tadesse told the national television yesterday. Addis Ababa recorded about three-fourths of all confirmed COVID-19 cases reported in the country so far, according to official figures.

The actual number of cases is likely much higher since many people haven’t been tested and some who get the disease don’t show symptoms, experts say.