The Egyptian Health authorities have announced the launching of an anti-polio vaccination campaign for children who are less than four years in all medical units nationwide.
According to Health Minister, Hala Zayed, about 16.5 million children will be immunized in all governors of Egypt.
The national campaign, that will last for four days, is carried out at an approximate cost of 84 million pounds (about $4.8 million USD), the Ministry's spokesman, Khaled Megahed, said.
"The vaccines to be used, have already been tested in terms of safety and effectiveness in the laboratories of the World Health Organization (WHO)," he added.
According to the WHO, Egypt has been polio-free since 2004. The last case was reported in the central government of Assiut in May 2004.
The last environmental sample with the indigenous wild virus was reported in January 2005, although the presence of wild environmental viruses imported from South Sudan and India was subsequently detected.
Routine immunization against polio is mandatory in All Egypt since 1968.
It is noteworthy that Egypt confirmed on Friday the first case of coronavirus in Africa, the state’s health ministry announced in a statement.
It added that the affected person was a foreigner who had been put into isolation at the hospital, confirming that all preventive measures have been taken to prevent the outbreak of the deadly virus inside Egypt.
Megahed said that they have immediately informed WHO.
It is noteworthy that Egypt evacuated 301 of its citizens from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus.
The evacuated citizens were put in quarantine in Marsa Martouh governorate for 14 days, which is the estimated incubation period of the coronavirus.
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