The Advisor to the Health and Population Minister for Research and Health Development Noha Asem assured Sunday that the death rate in Egypt in the age group under 20 years does not exceed one percent of the deaths due to COVID-19, which confirms that Egypt is safe from coronavirus mutations such as the Delta variant.
The Delta variant of coronavirus impacts younger age groups, Asem said, with reports from the UK stating that the patients currently in hospitals are the youngest – a major shift in the nature of infections.
During a phone-in with the Al-Hayat Al-Youm talk show, Asem said that the Health and Population Ministry has reviewed the ages of cases that died as a result of infection with the virus since the beginning of the pandemic until now and found them to be elderly patients.
Asem added that the Health and Population Ministry is closely following the developments of coronavirus in Egypt, to monitor any changes, once they occur.
She noted that the mutations of coronavirus are expected, and occur in large numbers, but what matters to the scientific community in the mutations of the virus is the clinical changes of the virus.
Egypt’s Health Ministry on Sunday confirmed 389 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s total up to 280,394.
The total number of COVID-19-related deaths has now reached 16,092 nationwide, after the ministry announced 30 deaths.
And 657 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 210,052.
Doctors and officials continue to warn the public to abide by coronavirus precautionary measures and push for vaccination, stating that social distancing is just as important as wearing a mask.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
