Egypt has reported a rise in the number of cases due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), with over 1,000 new cases confirmed last Friday, as part of the second wave of the pandemic.
The rise comes amid worries that the situation is gradually spiralling out of control, after weeks of under 500 confirmed cases per day.
Egypt’s Ministry of Health reported 1,133 new coronavirus cases, a rise from the 1,021 reported last Thursday, bringing the country’s total to 130,126 cases.
The country’s total number of confirmed fatalities due to the pandemic reached 7,309, after 49 new fatalities were reported on Friday. A total of 108,985 cases have recovered and discharged from hospitals.
On Thursday, Egypt recorded over 1,000 cases daily for the first time in five months. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached its peak in June, as daily injuries rose to close to 2,000 cases per day. At the same time, total deaths approached 100 deaths per day before they gradually began to decline.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said that the number of cases is expected to rise in January and February, which could decline in late February.
In televised statements on Friday, Abdel Ghaffar noted that five strains of the virus have been recorded in Egypt, and that there should be a nationwide commitment to the precautionary procedures to overcome the crisis.
Last Wednesday, Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed said that Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, and Qaliubiya governorates have recorded the highest numbers of infections.
Moreover, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said, in a press conference last Thursday, that his ministry had already signed contracts to purchase 30m doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. This comes in addition to further 20m doses of another vaccine being reserved to help combat the pandemic.
Zayed noted that the scientific committee to combat COVID-19 decided to approve the Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, due to its being manufactured using the same vaccine system for other viruses that have proven effective.
The committee has placed Pfizer’s Moderna vaccine as a second choice, due to its being manufactured using new technology.
Zayed revealed that Egypt has obtained a positive evaluation from the World Health Organization (WHO), allowing the manufacture of a coronavirus vaccine in Egypt.
