Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli addresses the press after meeting with his Sudanese counterpart (unseen) in Sudan's capital Khartoum, on August 15, 2020 AFP
Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stressed on Monday it is necessary to continue to adhere to the precautionary measures against the coronavirus pandemic to avoid a resurge in the number of infected cases.
“It is important to keep the low rates in the upcoming period and curtail the outbreak, especially that we are close to the start of the academic year," Madbouly said at the weekly meeting held to follow up on coronavirus developments in Egypt.
The meeting was attended by health minister Hala Zayed, higher education and scientific research minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, presidential adviser for medical affairs Awad Tag El-Din, Bahaa El-Din Zidan, the chairman of the Egyptian Authority for Unified Medical Supplies Procurement, and Tamer Essam, the chairman of the Egyptian Medicine Authority.
Egypt has recorded 96,475 cases since the outbreak of the coronavirus in February, including 59,743 fully recovered cases and 5,160 fatalities.
In July, Egypt witnessed a noticeable decline in the daily infection and fatality rates and an increase in daily recoveries.
Zayed spoke at the meeting about the efforts to provide a coronavirus vaccine, adding that a national committee was formed to supervise clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines.
She said several protocols are being studied to determine the most efficient precautionary measures to adopt at schools and universities when they reopen.
The new academic year will start on 17 October.
Zayed discussed at the meeting the medications disbursed by her ministry for home isolation patients and their families.
“Some 190,177 medicine bags and precautionary supplies, including 14,348 supplies for adults who came in contact with patients and 46,697 supplies for children, were provided,” she said.
Abdel-Ghaffar said university hospitals working as isolation hospitals will continue to function at least until early September when their operation will be re-evaluated.
There is a plan to counter a possible second coronavirus wave, he added.
The High Council for University Hospitals decided different surgical operations will be resumed at university hospitals as their clinics gradually reopen, Abdel-Ghaffar added.
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