Egypt’s Health Ministry on Sunday confirmed a total of 1,309 new COVID-19 cases and 64 deaths related to COVID-19.
The country’s health ministry also announced that it has so far recorded 418 recovered cases.
The North African country now has a total of 142,187 reported cases, 113,898 recovered cases and 7,805 deaths.
Egypt’s Health Ministry says the country has officially entered the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, after experiencing a surge in reported cases throughout the months of November and December.
Government officials continue to urge the public to adhere to precautionary measures against the virus, and the Egyptian Cabinet has called on authorities to strictly enforce the country’s mask mandate, which applies to all public transportation and indoor public spaces.
Schools and universities have been ordered by the country’s education and higher education ministries, to switch back to online learning as of January 2 due to the surge in cases.
If there is an improvement in the number of cases, in-person classes are expected to resume February 10.
In addition, the Egyptian government and transportation authorities jointly launched a campaign where an immediate fine of LE50 will be issued to all shoppers and public transit riders who do not abide by the wearing of masks rule.
Cafes and restaurants that break the government’s 50 percent occupancy limit will also be issued immediate fine of LE4,000 and be subject to a one-week closure.
Social media in Egypt went agog when a viral video which showed medical staff struggling to keep COVID-19 patients alive in a public Egyptian hospital stirred controversy across the country on Sunday, with many social media users believing that hospitals have begun to run out of oxygen tanks.
Egypt’s Health Ministry has been quick to deny the allegations, while local health authorities immediately launched an investigation into the deaths.
