Egypt’s Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tageldin warned on Sunday that coronavirus cases across the nation are seeing a continuous increase, as entire families have become infected due to poorly following precautionary measures.
He explained in televised statements that case numbers may skyrocket in the coming days.
Cases that need intensive care represent a heavy burden on the hospitals and the entire medical system, he said, and urged everyone eligible to apply for vaccinations.
Tageldin added that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi received the coronavirus vaccine himself to assure his citizens of the vaccine’s safety and efficiency.
Sisi is personally making great efforts to provide safe vaccines to the Egyptian people, Tageldin said, and referred to the president’s telephone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to request cooperation in manufacturing vaccines in Egypt.
The Ministry of Health and Population on Sunday reported 953 new infections and 51 deaths.
The total tally of cases has now reached 222,523, including 167,024 that have recovered and 13,049 deaths.
Egypt’s vaccination campaign that began in January is still working to vaccinate medical staff, people over the age of 65, and those with chronic illnesses, but registration for the vaccine is open to all.
The vaccine should cost no more than LE200 per person, Health Minister Hala Zayed announced, with low-income folks eligible to get their doses for free.
Egypt is currently using China’s Sinopharm vaccine and the UK’s AstraOxford vaccine. So far, 100 million doses have been secured by the ministry through the COVAX initiative, which is enough to vaccinate roughly half of Egypt’s population.
