Egypt reported 912 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the country’s highest daily count and the first above 900 since 15 January.

This brings the total infection tally to 221,570 since the outbreak began in February 2020.

The health ministry also reported 39 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus to 12,998.

The statement said that 433 patients have been discharged after recovering from the virus, bringing the total number of recoveries to 166,457.

Egypt reported its highest daily count of new cases on 19 June last year as 1,774 cases were detected. This came during the peak of the first coronavirus wave.

As Egypt struggles with the third coronavirus wave, Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Saturday the third wave is globally seeing a rise of 10 percent and seven percent in infections and deaths, respectively, than previous waves.

Zayed urged citizens to register to get vaccinated, saying many citizens and medical staff are reluctant to take the vaccine.

According to the health ministry, until 18 April a total of 660,000 Egyptians have been vaccinated and more than 1.5 million people have registered for vaccination since the ministry launched its website http://www.egcovac.mohp.gov.eg/ in March.