Egypt's Coronavirus Death Toll Exceeds 400

Egypt confirmed on Friday 358 new coronavirus cases, the highest daily increase so far, upping the total number of confirmed cases to 5,895.

"Fourteen more deaths were confirmed; raising the total number to 406," Khaled Megahed, the Health Ministry’s spokesman, said in a statement.

"Up to 1,460 coronavirus patients have recovered so far," the spokesman said.

"As many as 79 Egyptians were among the recovered patients today," he added.

Also, the number of coronavirus patients who had now been retested for the virus and had received negative results has reached 1,875, after getting proper treatment in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Earlier, Health Minister Hala Zayed said that 61% of the positive cases are from males and 39% from females.

Zayed mentioned that 30% of deaths had died before checking in at the isolation hospitals.

"About 94% of the deaths were in the age group of over 50," Zayed pointed out, adding: "22% of the confirmed cases are in the age group of 50 to 59."

"100% of the deceased had chronic diseases and tumors," the minister affirmed.

Earlier, Dr. John Jabbour, the WHO representative, noted that Egypt seriously dealt with the novel coronavirus since the start of its outbreak.

The Egyptian government took gradual measures to curb the spread of the virus, including the closure of schools and universities and preventing crowds, WHO representative stated.

In Egypt, 85% of the positive cases had recovered without treatment because their symptoms were simple, he said. "The death rate in Egypt reaches 7.6% and 13% of the confirmed cases are from the medical staff."

According to him, Egypt faces many challenges, topped by coordinating among all the health-related sectors and making the best use of the state's revenues in the fight against the epidemic, in addition to addressing the social stigma associated with the disease and supporting the medical staff who are standing in the frontlines and risking their own lives to treat infected patients.

The WHO official urged all the people to follow protective measures and stay at home to protect themselves and their loved ones against the disease.

The ministry has stepped up precautionary measures in the affected governorates and intensified campaigns to spread awareness about infectious diseases.

Megahed stressed that the ministry announced all positive and suspected cases nationwide.

The ministry raises its preparedness at all the country’s ports and airports to monitor the virus developments, receiving inquires from citizens about the virus through its hotline 105 or 15335.