As Egypt Braces for Gradual Re-Opening Measures, COVID-19 Cases Reach 11,000

According to the Ministry of Health in Egypt, COVID-19 cases have reached 11, 228 with a death toll of 592 on Friday.

The government agency also announced that 2799 cases people have recovered from the disease in Egypt since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

With approximately a week left in Ramadan and many aspects of every day life expected to resume normally, the Ministry announced a three-phase plan to tackle the rapidly increasing cases of infections.

The first phase, which will see more strict measures, will go on until the total number of coronavirus cases faces a downward trend for at least two weeks.

The second phase will gradually see an ease in restrictions and start after 2 weeks of a reduction in cases and will go on for 28 days.

The third phase will have the lightest precautions and continue until further announcements are instructed by the World Health Organization.

Recently, the Egyptian government has been facing mounting public pressure to redress its COVID-19 response, with many, including the president of the country’s Medical Syndicate, calling for a full lockdown. Currently, the government is maintaining a partial lock-down from 9 PM to 6AM until further notice.

However, with the healthcare system in Egypt under strain as hospitals start to feel the brunt of speedy admittances for urgent cases, it is still unclear as to how things will evovle in the next months.

China, Italy and Vietnam are gradually easing measures.

Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has reached over 170 countries, with almost 4.5 million cases, and a death toll of more than 300,ooo as per a real-time tracking map by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at John Hopkins University.