Egypt’s Health Ministry on Monday announced 669 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases up to 162,486, according to ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed.
The total number of COVID-19-related deaths has now reached 9,012 nationwide, after the ministry announced 53 deaths on Thursday.
And 504 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 127,001.
The country has officially entered the second wave of the pandemic, after cases rose steadily throughout November and December.
The peak reached so far during the second wave was on December 30, when the daily new cases reported at 1,411. Since then, the new daily cases started to plunge.
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.
Egyptian health and Population Minister Hala Zayed asserted earlier this month that Egypt has both the lowest coronavirus infection rates and death rates in relation to its population size.
Zayed refuted claims from the World Health Organization that Egypt has one of the highest death rates from coronavirus worldwide.
