The ministry also reported 31 new deaths in the past 24 hours nationwide, bringing the total fatalities nationwide to 22,179.

The statement added that 1,100 patients have been discharged from hospitals after recovering from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 334,629.

The highly infectious coronavirus variant Omicron is responsible for the “vast majority” of coronavirus cases in Egypt, Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din said on Monday.

Tag El-Din’s remarks come a few days after Egypt’s Acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar confirmed to the media that Egypt is witnessing a rise in Omicron cases.

The health ministry has urged people suffering from common cold symptoms to consider that they may have contracted COVID-19, and should therefore self-isolate and avoid sharing personal tools with family members.