The Advisor to Egyptian President for Health Affairs, Mohamed Awad Tag Eddin said Sunday that health authorities are following all COVID-19 variants, including the Heihe strain, and any hospitalizations resulting from them.
During a phone-in with al-Hadath al-Youm (The Event Today) channel, Tag Eddin assured that the ministry is closely monitoring the global pandemic situation.
He stressed that there has been no serious development in the severity of infections, and that the latest mutations in the coronavirus are not as strong as reported.
Tag Eddin said that Egypt does not have any issues regarding the treatment of coronavirus patients, or a shortage of intensive care units.
The Assistant Professor of Medical Virology and Immunology Fayed Attia said that the Heihe mutation that appeared in China is a new strain of the Delta variant.
He stressed that it is a genetic mutation and not a new virus.
While this new strain is very widespread, it is not very dangerous, he said, adding that China has completely isolated the new epidemic.
The symptoms are completely similar to standard coronavirus strains but spread faster, he said, and as the main concern is in symptom severity, this new strain is nothing to worry over.
