Egypt’s Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed 610 new COVID-19 cases, up from 573 the day before. The ministry also announced 53 virus-related deaths and 233 fully-recovered cases.
The country has now reported a total of 171,390 cases, 133,331 recovered cases, and 9,804 deaths.
Egypt’s second wave hit its peak on December 30, when the health ministry reported 1,411 new cases. Case numbers experienced a sharp decline in January, but are now slowly rising again.
The daily death count has remained consistent since the onset of the second wave.
A third wave of the virus might hit the country by the end of March, according to Ashraf Hatem, a member of the Supreme Committee for Respiratory Viruses affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
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 doses.
The ministry is currently using China’s Sinopharm vaccine and has received doses of the UK’s AstraOxford vaccine.
The first doses, as in the rest of the world, are reserved for healthcare workers, the elderly, and at-risk persons. The ministry expects to launch its vaccine registration portal for the general public as early as next week.
