Egypt reports 523 new coronavirus cases, 23 deaths

CAIRO - 16 December 2020: The Health Ministry said on Tuesday that 523 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases to 122,609.

In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 23 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 6,966.

As many as 318 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 105,450 so far, the spokesman said.

The second batch of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine produced by the Chinese company Sinopharm arrived in Egypt December 15. The batch includes 50,000 doses, bringing the balance of the Ministry of Health to 100,000 doses sufficient for 50,000 people. 

The vaccination process is scheduled to start with the first dose, followed by the second dose after 21 days.

Official sources at the Ministry of Health and Population told Egypt Today that a vaccination plan is being developed to include the first groups of vaccinations, adding that work is underway to establish a website to register those who wish to receive the vaccine. 

The sources added, "We aim to provide 10 million doses of the Chinese vaccine, as Egypt will be receiving more doses during the current month in a row."