Egypt's health ministry said on Wednesday that the recovery rate for coronavirus patients in isolation hospitals has risen to 28.1 percent, marking the highest level since the epidemic hit the country on 14 February.

The total number of coronavirus recoveries nationwide has reached 21,718 so far, the ministry said in a statement sent to Ahram Online.

The country is currently witnessing a stable death rate of 4.5 percent from the virus, it added.

The first coronavirus fatality announced in Egypt was on 8 March, with the highest single-day death toll to date recorded on 15 May, with 97 fatalities.

Health minister Hala Zayed said last month that Egypt was among the countries with the lowest coronavirus death rates, adding that the highest mortality rate was among patients with chronic diseases.

The minister said at the time that 60 percent of the coronavirus fatalities in Egypt are in patients who are over 60 years old.

Driven by economic concerns, Egypt began earlier this month to ease lockdown measures more than three months after they were imposed, lifting a nighttime curfew and allowing more businesses to reopen, including restaurants, coffee shops and cinemas.