In a cabinet meeting with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Abdel-Ghaffar reviewed the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Egypt, as well as the spread of monkeypox around the world and the government’s measures to confront any possible infections with this disease.

The acting health minister reviewed the occupancy rates in the state’s hospitals designated to provide health and treatment isolation services for coronavirus patients, saying that 97 percent of the hospital beds are vacant, including 86 percent of intensive care beds, and 94 percent of ventilators.

More than 38 million people have been fully immunised against the coronavirus in Egypt, he noted.

Over 49 million people have received their first dose, meeting 98.7 percent of the country’s vaccination target, and over 38 million people have received the second dose, meeting 76.7 percent of the target, Abdel-Ghaffar explained.

Moreover, over six million people have received booster shots.

The minister had stated earlier this week that 97 percent of the COVID-19 cases in Egypt are of the Omicron variant.

Most infections in Egypt do not require treatment at hospitals, but can instead be managed by five to seven-day-long isolation at home, he explained.

Sore throat is the most common symptom of COVID-19 followed by headache and blocked nose, the Egyptian Health and Population Ministry has stated.

Earlier pandemic symptoms such as fever as well as loss of taste and smell were mentioned at the bottom of the list as the least reported symptoms of COVID-19 currently.

During the meeting, the acting health minister also reviewed the spread of monkeypox, affirming that no monkeypox cases have been detected in Egypt to date.