Egypt must use experience in combating coronavirus to prepare for possible second wave: Sisi
Ahmed Morsy, Saturday 12 Sep 2020


Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has directed the government’s various agencies to use the lessons learned from Egypt’s experience in combating the repercussions of coronavirus so as to take the necessary precautionary measures during the coming period to deal with any possible resurgence.

El-Sisi’s remarks came during a meeting with the presidency’s Health Adviser MohamedAwad TagEl-Din to follow up on the state's efforts to deal with the pandemic, as well as its preparations to confront any possible second wave, a presidential statement said on Saturday.

The statement said that among the necessary precautionary measures that have to be taken is increasing public awareness campaigns, especially with the approaching start of the new school year.

Egypt’s 2020/21 school year is slated to begin on 17 October with acomprehensive upgraded plan for the education system, including a digital transformation and a revamping of the high school system.

The decision to push back the school year to October instead of September was the result of the spread of the coronavirus.

There are 23 million school students nationwide.

In March, schools and universities suspended in-person classes, with most students remaining at home and given assignments online, although pupils taking their final high school exams did so in person in June and July.

Health Adviser TagEl-Din reviewed during Saturday’s meeting the current situation regarding the infection and recovery rates from the virus nationwide, the statement said.

According to Tag El-Din, the state’s successful and ongoing efforts to address the epidemic included developing hospitals, launching mobile clinics, applying detection, isolation and coexistence procedures, providing the necessary laboratory analyses, and constantly updating medical treatment protocols, as well as the national research efforts to develop the necessary vaccines to combat the coronavirus.

Though Egypt’s number of the daily coronavirus cases was close to the 150-patient mark in the previous two days, the daily cases are anticipated to rebound in the coming period as the global forecasts and reports warn about a second wave in the fall or winter.

The government said in late July that it may resort to adopting the strict preventative measures that it had imposed earlier to fight the coronavirus, including shutting down activities, if the infection rate rises again.

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