Egypt’s Health Ministry on Wednesday confirmed 512 new COVID-19 cases, down from 521 on Sunday. The ministry also announced 53 virus-related deaths and 398 fully-recovered cases.
The country has now reported a total of 167,525 cases, 130,912 recovered cases, and 9,460 deaths.
Egypt has officially passed the peak of its second wave, after cases rose steadily throughout November and December and underwent a sharp decline in January, according to Mohamed Abdel Fattah, head of the Central Administration for Preventive Medicine Affairs at the Health Ministry.
The second wave hit its peak on December 30, when the health ministry reported 1,411 new cases.
Strictly enforced precautionary measures, a shift back to online learning, and a reduction in public gatherings have all contributed to the decline in case numbers, said Presidential adviser Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din.
However, the daily death count has remained consistent.
Despite the drop in daily cases, government officials continue to urge authorities to strictly enforce the country’s mask mandate, which applies to all public transportation and indoor public spaces.
Egypt launched its vaccination campaign on January 24, however, officials are predicting a slow rollout as the country waits for the arrival of vaccine orders.
The first doses, like in the rest of the world, are reserved for healthcare workers, the elderly, and at-risk persons.
The ministry is currently using China’s Sinopharm vaccine and received doses of the UK’s AstraOxford vaccine on Sunday.
Egypt is expected to further diversify its vaccine arsenal when it receives doses of Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine. It also has approval from Russia to produce the vaccine locally, at vaccine giant VACSERA.
