Amb. reiterates EU will send Egypt €89 billion to curb coronavirus

CAIRO – 8 May 2020: The European Union has provided 89 million euros to the Egyptian health sector to help authorities manage the coronavirus crisis, said EU Ambassador to Egypt Ivan Surkos.

This comes while the northeastern Africa country is involved in a fierce battle against the novel coronavirus, as it has so far confirmed 7,981 cases and 482 deaths, according to an official toll on Thursday.

Surkos affirmed to Egypt Today that the EU is showing solidarity with Egypt as a strategic partner in the face of the novel coronavirus. He added that the EU will cooperate with Egypt, while taking into account social and economic sustainable development after the end of the crisis.

He also referred to a €1.5 billion aid allocated to help Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Morocco and Tunisia respond to the crisis.

The financial aid allocated by the EU aims to help Egypt respond to the direct threat posed by the coronavirus against Egyptians generally. The €89 billion aid which is set to be sent to Egypt during the coming months aims to enhancing the resources of the health ministry, through helping the ministry purchase medical equipment and train medical cadres.

In April, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Oliver Varhelyi said he made a phone call with Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, during which he affirmed the need of cooperation to fight the deadly virus.

On Tuesday, EU Ambassador to Lebanon Ralph Tarraf said that the European bloc granted the World Health Organization 15 million euros (16.2 million US dollars) in support of Lebanon's health sector, the National News Agency reported.

Daily report
Egypt has recently recorded 393 people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, making the highest daily counts in Egypt so far, and 13 people died with the novel virus, the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

This brings the total number of reported cases and deaths to 7,981 and 482 respectively, the ministry said.

The test results of 2,378 people of the reported cases turned from positive to negative, including 1,887 people who fully recovered.

Also, 72 cases, all of them Egyptians, left hospital after they recovered, according to the instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The ministry revealed that the total number of positive patients at the quarantine hospitals is 1,890, including 211 unstable cases and 41 critical cases.