Interior Ministry headquarters (Reuters)
An Egyptian security source dismissed on Saturday claims that there are coronavirus infections at Borg El-Arab prison.
The claim was made in a video circulated on social media saying that the chief of detectives at Borg El-Arab prison, his assistant, and some of the inmates were infected with the coronavirus.
The source said that the video was made by an "unemployed person with a criminal background" who demanded the release of the prisoners because his brother is being held in the prison pending a drug case.
The source also denied claims made on satellite channels affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood group regarding the alleged death from coronavirus of a civil servant inside Tora prison.
He said that the aforementioned employee "had been on leave from his work since 17 May and died while on his vacation."
The Ministry of the Interior will take legal actions against those who spread these rumours, the source added.
On Saturday, the health ministry announced 1,367 new coronavirus infections, the highest single-day increase announced to date, bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 23,449 since the detection of the first case on 14 February.
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