Egypt detects 613 new coronavirus cases with 56 fatalities Monday

CAIRO - 16 February 2020: Egypt detected 613 new coronavirus cases upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 174,426, the Health Ministry announced in a statement.

Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 56 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 10,050.

As many as 389 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 135,349 so far, the spokesman said.

Egypt will receive five to eight million doses of coronavirus vaccine from an international vaccine alliance in the second half of this month, the Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said.

In a phone interview with AlHayah AlYoum TV show, Saad pointed out that the government signed contracts to buy 40 million doses for 20 million citizens, noting the first batch ranges from five to eight doses.

The priority will be given to medical teams at the isolation hospitals, followed by people with chronic diseases and then the elderly, Saad stated.

He also said Egypt's vaccine registration website will be launched soon, adding the delivery of the coronavirus vaccine this month is three months earlier than its scheduled date.

The cabinet spokesman pointed to a decline in the coronavirus infections over the past period, noting the ICU occupancy rate at isolation hospitals declined to less than 40%.

He also pointed out that the Health Ministry secured strategic stock of one million liters of medical liquefied oxygen.