Egypt records 168 new coronavirus cases, 13 deaths

CAIRO, 16 April 2020: The Ministry of Health announced, Thursday recording 168 new coronavirus cases, and 13 deaths

According to Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed, the new cases, raises Egypt’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 2,673 and deaths to 196.

He added that the number of coronavirus cases whose tests turned from positive to negative increased to 781, including 596 people who recovered from the virus.

All positive cases are placed under quarantine at isolation hospitals, the spokesman said.

He added that 43 of those infected with coronavirus, including three foreigners, were discharged from hospitals after receiving the necessary medical care. Total number of recoveries so far reached 596.

The death rate for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Egypt decreased from 7.5% to 7.3%, data published by the Health Ministry revealed.

The infection rate reached 6.1%, while the rate of coronavirus test results turning out to be negative rose to 29.9%, the highest rate since the crisis started in Egypt in mid-February, according to the official data announced.

Secretary-General António Guterres praised Egypt’s economic efforts to tackle the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Wednesday.

“Egypt has reduced taxation for industries and postponed taxation on agricultural land, and has expanded its social safety net program,” the Secretary-General said in a virtual meeting with leaders of the African Group members.

On March 22, 2020, President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi announced economic measures taken by the Egyptian state to face the subsequences of Coronavirus.

These measures included decisions related to pensions bonus and agriculture land taxes. According to the President, the government decided to include the five bonuses due for pensioners by 80 percent of the basic wage, in addition to granting the annual periodic bonus to pensioners to be 14 percent as of next fiscal year.

It was also decided to extend the moratorium on the tax law on agricultural land for a period of two years.

The Secretary-General affirmed the international organization’s full support for the African countries, saying “From procuring test kits to promoting debt relief, the UN will stand in solidarity with Africa as it braces against the unprecedented economic, social and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”