Minister advises precautionary measures amid slight rise in COVID cases in Egypt

Ahram Online , Wednesday 22 Feb 2023

Minister of Health Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar stressed on Wednesday the need to continue adhering to the precautionary measures amid a slight increase in coronavirus infections in the country since mid-January.

Minister of Health Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar
Minister of Health Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar

 

"Although registered cases have not required hospitalisation, there remains a need to adhere to preventive measures against the virus - especially wearing a mask in crowded and closed places,” the minister said while reviewing the epidemiological situation in the country during a cabinet meeting.

Abdel-Ghaffar indicated that the number of coronavirus-related deaths decreased during the seventh week of 2023 compared to the previous six weeks.

The minister noted that 60 percent of the beds are vacant at the ministry hospitals, as well as more than 35 percent of the intensive care beds, while 71 percent of the ventilators are available.

Earlier this month, Amr Kandil, the head of Preventive Medicine at the ministry, stated that the dominant strain of coronavirus currently in Egypt is the Omicron variant, which is more contagious despite exhibiting milder symptoms.

Kandil revealed at the time that the Omicron mutations that have been detected in Egypt so far are BA2 at 47 percent, BA5 at 43 percent, BA4 at 8 percent, and BA1 at 3 percent.

Approximately 41 million citizens have received COVID-19 vaccines – either initial or booster shots – and 56 million doses are still available to be administered, according to recently released ministry figures.

 

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