Ethiopia registered 196 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 271,541 as of Monday evening, according to the country's Ministry of Health.

The ministry said 10 new deaths were reported, bringing the country's death toll to 4,165, the ministry said.

The East African country reported 1,190 more recoveries, taking the national count to 238,734.

According to the ministry, Ethiopia currently has 28,640 active COVID-19 cases, of whom 399 are said to be under severe health conditions.

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

Figures from the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that Ethiopia's COVID-19 cases accounted for about 6 percent of the continent's total confirmed cases.

Ethiopia is among the countries the hardest hit by COVID-19 in Africa, following South Africa, Morocco and Tunisia.