Egypt Reports New Record 1,127 COVID-19 Cases, Toll Reaches 20,793

Source: PixabayEgypt’s Ministry of Health announced on Thursday evening that it had recorded 1,127 new positive COVID-19 infections and 29 new deaths. The number of new infections is the highest daily rise since the start of the pandemic in Egypt and is an increase of 217 from the day before.

On Wednesday evening, the Ministry of Health had recorded 910 new cases, which itself had been a new record and an increase of 121 cases from the record set on Tuesday evening.

According to the latest statement by the Ministry of Health, the number of deaths has now reached 845. Meanwhile, the number of patients to have fully recovered from COVID-19 has increased from 5,205 on Wednesday evening to 5,359. That means there are 15,434 cases that have not yet fully recovered.

The numbers of positive infections reported by the Ministry of Health are only those that have been admitted to hospital.

It is expected that the number of infections will continue to rise for at least another two weeks, with the Minister of Higher Education last week stating that the real number of infections in Egypt could be over 70,000.

Rising Concerns

With the Eid public holiday coming to an end, Egypt is expected to relax its nationwide curfew, which had been lengthened to commence from 5PM until 6AM. Starting 30 May, the curfew will be relaxed once again and will be effective from 8PM to 6AM, with shops and other commercial entities required to shut their doors from 5PM.

Egypt’s first case was confirmed on 14 February 2020. Despite an initial slow increase in the number of recorded cases, the past month has seen a rapid rise in the spread of COVID-19 across the country. Since May 21, there have been 5,790 new cases. This can be compared to the last week of April, where over seven days 1,646 cases were recorded.

The Egyptian government continues to reassure citizens that the rise in the number of cases has been expected and that it is trying its best to maintain a balance between health and the economy. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi earlier on 28 May urged citizens to remain united and condemned “enemies of the state” who “questioned” the country’s efforts and achievements.

President Sisi’s comments came as anger continues to rise among members of Egypt’s Medical Syndicate, who claim that negligence of the government has resulted in deaths and infections among healthcare workers across the country.

On Sunday, three Egyptian doctors died, taking the death toll among doctors to 19, per the Egyptian Medical Syndicate. The Ministry of Health, however, said in recent statements that the death toll among doctors was actually 11.

Reports indicate that both death tolls reported by the Syndicate and the Ministry do not include other medical workers, such as nurses. At least 300 medical workers have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in Egypt.