Egypt has not reported cases of coronavirus variant EG.5 to date: Presidential health advisor

CAIRO – 18 August 2023: Egypt has not yet reported any cases with the new coronavirus variant EG.5, affirmed Presidential Advisor for Health and Prevention Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag el Din.

In statements to MENA posted on Friday, the presidential health advisor said that the World Health Organization has designated the new fast-spreading COVID strain as a "variant of interest."

He further said that all necessary precautions should be taken to avoid infection with such viruses.

The new coronavirus subvariant, EG.5, has grabbed the interest of the world and the WHO, after increasing in Europe over the past weeks.

The EG.5, a subvariant of the Omicron lineage, raised concerns after increasing globally to constitute 17.4 percent of the coronavirus cases by the end of July up from only 7.6 percent a month earlier.

The world fears that the subvariant can become dominant around the world, causing an increase in the cases of coronavirus, only a few months after the WHO declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency.