Egypt reports 35 new coronavirus cases, 7 fatalities in 24 hours

CAIRO - 27 July 2020:  The Health Ministry said Monday night that 35 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 284,059.

In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said seven patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 16,494.

As many as 358 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 227,970 so far, the spokesman said.

More than 300 plasma donors were registered so far since a national project to achieve self-sufficiency of plasma derivatives launched earlier this month.

“The goal of donating blood plasma is to provide medicines derived from it to save the lives of patients,” said Dr. Omnia Abdel Hakim, the director of the Follow-up Unit at the Plasma Project at the Ministry of Health. She added that the donation process helps activate the donor's somatic cells.  

She further explained that a comprehensive medical examination is being conducted to guarantee the donor is free from Hepatitis C and B, and that a donor can repeat donation every two weeks from the previous one.

The Ministry of Health and Population said that the project contributes to achieving self-sufficiency in plasma derivatives to provide medicines for the treatment of many chronic diseases, blood diseases, liver, kidney and burns, explaining that the amount of plasma that is withdrawn is compensated by drinking more water and fluids.

Dr. Khaled Mujahid, Assistant Minister of Health and Population for Media and Awareness and the official spokesperson for the ministry, explained that donors are received at six plasma collection centers in five governorates nationwide.