Ministry of Health reported on Sunday 1,467 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, and 39 new fatalities. The latest figures raised the country’s total confirmed cases to 34,079 and 1,237 deaths. Up to 8,961 cases have recovered so far.
The health affairs committee of the parliament held a meeting on Sunday to discuss the latest developments regarding the pandemic in the presence of representatives of the ministries of health and higher education.
Mohamed Hassan, Assistant to the Minister of Health, said during the meeting that the infection curve of the virus in Egypt did not reach the peak yet, with 17 weeks passed since the first infection was detected. He added that the recovery rate reached about 25%, and deaths decreased from 7% to 3%.
Hassan explained that 50% of the cases have been subject to self-isolation at their residences. He added that individuals who do not showsymptoms after 10 days in isolation are considered recovered without the need for PCR test. He noted that this is the new strategy aims to reduce pressure on hospitals and save PCR tests for other patients in serious conditions.
Also, Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of University Hospitals, pointed out that the countries currently witnessing lower COVID-19 infections have managed to do so through adopting strict precautionary measures such as wearing face masks and social distancing, rather thancurfew or lockdown.
He explained that in Japan is considered one of the lowest countries in terms of COVID-19 infections and deaths because mask-wearing is a cultural norm there.
AbdelGhaffar added that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended wearing face masks in hospitals only at the beginning of the crisis, but in its latest report, the WHO stressed the importance of wearing masks in public areas as well.
Abdel Ghaffar continued, “If we conducted random screening, we would find many people infected with the coronavirus but not showing symptoms.”
Noteworthy, the total number of coronavirus fatalities among Egyptian doctors rose to 46 on Saturday, after the death of 10 doctors in less than a week.
