Egypt’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday confirmed 577 new coronavirus cases, down from 581 on Tuesday. The ministry also announced 44 deaths and 500 recovered cases.
The country has now reported a total of 184,168 confirmed cases, 142,155 recovered cases, and 10,822 virus-related deaths.
Egypt launched its vaccination campaign on January 24. The Health Ministry is currently working to vaccinate medical staff first, and has opened registration for Egyptians and non-Egyptians over 65 or will chronic illnesses to register for the jab online.
The vaccine will cost no more than LE200 per person, Health Minister Hala Zayed announced, with low-income folks eligible to get their doses for free.
Egypt is currently using China’s Sinopharm vaccine for its campaign and has received doses of the UK’s AstraOxford vaccine. The ministry also plans to employ Russia’s Sputnik-V vaccine, once it makes its way to Cairo.
AstraOxford and Sputnik-V received emergency approval from the Egyptian Drug Authority on February 24.
So far, 100 million doses of the vaccine have been secured by the ministry, which is enough to vaccinate roughly half of Egypt’s population.
Egypt’s second wave hit its peak on December 30, when the health ministry reported 1,411 new cases. Case numbers underwent a sharp decline in January, but are now stabilizing.
Government officials continue to urge authorities to strictly enforce the country’s mask mandate, which applies to all public transportation and indoor public spaces.
