Egypt recorded 1,411 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, the highest daily rise in almost five months, bringing the total number of cases to 136,644, the health ministry said in a statement.

It is the seventh day in a row for Egypt to report daily coronavirus cases above the 1000-case threshold.

According to the Egyptian health ministry bulletin, 56 new deaths were reported on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus to 7,576.

The statement said that 411 patients have been discharged after recovering from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 111,451.

Egypt, which is currently facing the second wave of the pandemic, has been recently witnessing a rebound of daily infections after reporting low rates over the past months. 

According to Wagida Anwar, a member of the Supreme Committee for Viruses at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the number of coronavirus cases in Egypt is expected to reach its peak during the second wave in late January.

Earlier on Wednesday, the regional office of the World Health Organisation affirmed that the new strain of the coronavirus has not been reported in Egypt, state-owned news agency MENA said.

In order to curb the spread of the virus the cabinet has recently enforced a number of measures, including the imposition of an immediate EGP 50 fine for not wearing masks in public starting next Sunday.

The government has also banned all New Year’s Eve celebrations and maintained restrictions on occupancy for hotels, restaurants and cafes.