Egypt’s daily briefing on COVID-19: 128 new cases, 17deaths

CAIRO – 20 September 2020: The Health Ministry said Saturday that 128 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases to 101,900.

According to the statement,17 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 5,750.

As many as 708 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 88,666 so far, the spokesman added.

Since early last month, the daily number of new cases dropped below 200, except for the last week in August, registering a record drop in daily reported cases on August 22 with only 89 new infections, the lowest daily tally since April.

However, Egyptian officials have repeatedly urged caution to avoid a second wave of the pandemic, particularly with the advent of autumn and the beginning of the academic year.

The Ministry of Health and Population announced Saturday the beginning of clinical trials of two Chinese COVID-19 vaccines on 15,000 volunteers. The tests will last for 60 days while the follow-up will continue for 12 months.

The volunteers who are all aged above 18 will be injected with two doses. Sources at the ministry told Al Watan newspaper that 135 vaccines worldwide are being clinically tested, and that only seven – including the two being tested in Egypt – entered the third stage.