Coronavirus in Egypt: 40 new cases, 2 deaths in 24 hours

CAIRO - 16 March 2020: Egypt’s Ministry of Health announced the death toll of Coronavirus (Covid-19) rose to 4 people after recording two new deaths, adding that new 40 people were tested positive for the disease in 24 hours, bringing the total number of infected cases to 166 so far, said Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed in a statement on Monday.

The first death case is a 72-year-old German tourist who passed away in Luxor, while the second death case is an Egyptian (50) in Daqahliyah governorate, Egypt’s Delta, Megahed said.

The Egyptian man has contacted the lady who passed away on March 12, 2020, from the disease, the Spokesperson continued, noting the Egyptian man’s three-member family was tested positive for the virus and they are included in the newly-announced figure.

Eight people of the new cases are Egyptians who came from Saudi Arabia after performing Umrah ritual [small pilgrimage], he said, adding that all recorded cases who have been isolated in hospitals are stable and subject to medical care in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

Only 7 cases are in moderate condition, and two cases are unstable, he said, adding that 26 cases so far cured of the virus.

Health Minister Hala Zayed told anchorman Amr Adib that strict pre-emptive measures are taken in Daqahliyah, Minya, and Damietta, adding that more than 300 families were quarantined in Daqahliyah.

In a press conference at the Cabinet, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that Egypt will be suspending the aviation movement in all airports starting March 19 until March 31.

He added all hotels in Egypt will launch a wide sterilization campaign during the suspension period. Madbouly explained that this suspension would cost Egypt losses up to LE 2.25 billion in both the tourism and aviation sectors; “However we value the Egyptians' health over anything else,” Prime Minister said.

Earlier, President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi directed to suspend study at schools and universities across the country for two weeks as of Sunday, March 15, as part of the country's comprehensive strategy to combat Coronavirus.

Coronavirus has forced many countries to suspend their flights around the globe after the infected cases reached 174,605 people and 6,685 deaths were reported to date. On March 10, 2020, the virus was announced a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.

“WHO is deeply concerned by the alarming levels of the coronavirus spread, severity & inaction, & expects to see the number of cases, deaths & affected countries climb even higher. Therefore, we made the assessment that COVID19 can be characterized as a pandemic,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusin in a press conference.