Egypt’s Health and Population Ministry on Monday cautioned against using disinfection gates that spray people with chlorine and other disinfectants.
“It is not recommended to spray people with disinfectants in the workplace,” the ministry said in a Facebook statement on its official page.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier that it is not recommended to spray individuals under any circumstances with disinfectants, because it will not reduce an infected person’s ability to spread coronavirus.
The WHO said that in fact, spraying disinfectants may have other harmful effects on people’s health.
Disinfectant gates have been placed at the entrances of several government institutions, schools, and universities in Egypt over the past few months as part of precautionary measures to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Egypt has been registering a decrease in coronavirus cases since last week. As of Monday, the rate of new infections has fallen below 1,000 per day.
Over the weekend, Egypt’s Scientific Committee to Combat Coronavirus reported that the number of critical coronavirus cases in the country has decreased, and that most current cases are minor to moderate, requiring only home isolation treatment protocols.
Egypt on Sunday announced 912 new coronavirus cases, in addition to 89 deaths.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health said that 543 people who recovered from the virus were discharged from quarantine hospitals on Sunday after receiving medical care.
Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed said that the total number of coronavirus cases recorded in Egypt as of Monday was 82,070, in addition to 3,858 deaths.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
