Egypt’s Ministry of Health has reported 149 new coronavirus infections on Monday, with 7 new deaths. The country’s total cases reached 1,322 while death toll recorded 85. A total of 259 cases have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.
The ongoing pandemic has infected over 1,200,000 worldwide, of whom 270,372 cases have recovered, and killed over 70,590.
According to the latest Ministry of Health figures, Egypt is ranked 33rd in the world in terms of death rate, which stands at 6.6% of the number of infections, behind Saint Martin Island (6.9%) and Belgium (7%).
In terms of total infections per million, Egypt ranks 146 worldwide, at 10 per 1 million, and 42nd worldwide in terms of the recovery rate, (22.5%).
On Monday, Ahmed El-Sobky, Chairperson of the General Healthcare Authority, announced that 51 oncology patients registered in Port Said have received their cancer treatment for free at home.
El-Sobky said that home treatments are part of the initiative launched by the authority aimed at patients with chronic diseases and the elderly. The move is to ensure their safety, as they are among the groups most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection.
Meanwhile, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has announced that 33 of its staff, including nurses and doctors, have tested positive for the coronavirus.
NCI Director Hatem Abu El-Kassem said in televised statements on 3 April that the source of infection is a nursing staff member who transmitted the virus to others. He added that they have lowered the number of patients at the hospital to only the most urgent cases, currently 60 patients. The move to mostly vacate the institute of patients will allow for disinfection and sterilisation, and allow for all staff to be tested for the coronavirus.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has ordered testing all patients and staff of the institute for coronavirus, to ensure their safety.
