Official sources at Egypt’s Health and Population Ministry have projected that the country’s vaccination program will start on February 1, with priority given to medical staff, chronic disease patients and the elderly.
The sources said that 500,000 doses of Chinese vaccine Sinopharm are expected to arrive by the end of January, as the ministry is working to finish equipping 27 vaccination centers across the nation.
Religious Endowments Minister Mohamed Mukhtar Gomaa issued a fatwa permitting the payment of “zakat” funds to provide vaccines for the poor and needy, as fending off disease is even more vital than staving off hunger according to a fatwa from Dar al-Iftaa in response to a similar question.
This comes as health directorates within Egypt continue implementing an initiative to follow up those infected with coronavirus self-isolating at home, through phone calls and transfer to hospitals if necessary.
The Health Ministry has allocated 20,000 medical teams, 5,400 health units, and 800 medical convoys to provide medical services, equipped with tablet devices to record all case data via the ministry’s electronic system.
And governors met with officials of health directorates and health units via video conference to follow up the situation in hospitals, ensuring the availability of oxygen and other supplies and that all measures are in place to confront the second wave of COVID-19.
The Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population announced on Saturday 879 new coronavirus cases, 52 virus-related deaths and 720 recoveries as of Friday.
Egypt has now recorded a total of 154,620 confirmed cases, 121,792 recovered cases, and 8,473 virus-related deaths.
The country has officially entered the second wave of the pandemic, after cases rose steadily throughout November and December.
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.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
