Egypt detected 141 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, reporting a total tally of 97,619 cases since the outbreak began in February.

The health ministry also reported 18 new deaths, bringing the total deaths from the virus to 5,298.

The statement said that 900 patients had been discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries to 67,717.

Despite the drop in cases, Egyptian authorities have warned that the country has not yet emerged from the crisis despite the fall in new cases and deaths, urging strict adherence to preventive measures nationwide.

In addition, a cooperation deal with China on manufacturing vaccines will be signed in September, according to a statement by the health ministry following a meeting between Health Minister Hala Zayed and Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang.

Egypt said in July it had been selected by China to serve as a future African hub for manufacturing a coronavirus vaccine if one is developed by Beijing.

Per the agreement, the Egyptian health ministry’s national vaccination centre, VACSERA, and a Chinese company, will carry out trials to develop a vaccine to pave the way for manufacturing it in Egypt once it is proven effective.

There are as yet no approved vaccines for the virus, which has killed over 800,000 and infected around 24 million people globally.