Political leadership keen to avoid COVID impacts on plans, efforts to improve public health: Min.

CAIRO - 13 July 2020: Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed said Egypt’s political leadership is keen to avoid the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on plans and efforts that are meant to improve public health.

Zayed’s remarks were part of a speech delivered by head of the health ministry's Central Department of Laboratories Nancy el Gendy on behalf of the minister during the Arab League’s celebration of World Population Day.

The minister renewed her support and thanks to all parties concerned with population and development issues in Arab countries, which she said are still assuming their roles very efficiently despite the grave consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those consequences have prompted us more and more to coordinate efforts, support capabilities and promote our cooperation, she added.

The Health Ministry said Monday night that 110 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 283,212.

In a statement, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said seven patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 16,403.

As many as 879 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 219,291 so far, the spokesman said.

Advisor to the Ministry of Health for Research Dr. Noha Assem said that there are agreements to locally manufacture many vaccines, whether for Corona or for children, inside the Vaccera factories, stressing that “Egypt is heading towards self-sufficiency in vaccines.”

She added that Egypt will soon obtain batches of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson anti-COVID vaccine.

“Egypt, from the first moment, has knocked on all doors in order to obtain vaccines, and it will witness extensive coverage in terms of Corona vaccines, starting next August,” she said, adding: “Egypt has already manufactured the Chinese vaccine, and agreement is underway to manufacture the Russian vaccine.”