Egypt on Monday reported its highest daily COVID-19 infection figures, in five months, as the country officially battles a second wave of the pandemic.
The Health and Population Ministry on Monday confirmed 718 new coronavirus cases, compared to 627 on July 20 during the summer when numbers began to fall.
The ministry also announced 32 virus-related deaths and 345 recovering cases.
Egypt has now recorded a total of 126,273 confirmed cases – 107,162 recovered and 7,130 dead.
Government officials continue to urge the public to adhere to precautionary measures against the virus, and the Egyptian Cabinet has called on authorities to strictly enforce the country’s mask mandate, which applies to all public transportation and indoor public spaces.
Those who do not wear a mask in the designated areas could face a fine of up to LE4,000.
Egypt’s Health and Population Ministry’s Scientific Committee to Combat COVID-19 has estimated that the real figures for coronavirus infections in the country are 10 times higher than the official figures.
“We have more coronavirus infections than what is announced,” committee member Mohamed al-Nady said on Sunday during a phone interview with Kalema Akhera’s (Last word) host Lamis al-Hadidi. “It is at least ten times higher than what is announced,” he added.
Nady added that the new strain of coronavirus causing worldwide panic is likely present in Egypt.
Egypt has yet to reach Europe or US-like figures in its second wave, however, testing in the country is not widely accessible or affordable for the average Egyptian.
Moreover, the government has decided to focus its testing on those presenting with severe symptoms of the virus, which means that the health ministry statistics do not reflect the actual number of active cases in the country, WHO official Rick Brennan stated on December 8.
