Egypt Says Has Sufficient Supply of Medicine, Medical Equipment to Combat COVID-19

A view of Ataba square during Eid al-Fitr, Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo
A view of Ataba square during Eid al-Fitr, Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo
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Egypt Says Has Sufficient Supply of Medicine, Medical Equipment to Combat COVID-19

A view of Ataba square during Eid al-Fitr, Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo
A view of Ataba square during Eid al-Fitr, Cairo, Egypt. Reuters file photo

The Egyptian government has affirmed that there is sufficient storage of medicine and medical supplies to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus for several more months.

The Media Center of Egypt's Council of Ministers also denied rumors that prices of protective face masks and disinfectants have increased amid the second wave of the pandemic.

The medical supplies available in the market are being sold at low prices, compared to prices during the first wave, especially after setting up new production lines, the cabinet's media center affirmed.

It also reveal conducting inspection campaigns on pharmacies and markets to prevent price gouging.

Egypt has about 180 production lines, with a production capacity of about 50,000 masks per line, which is equivalent to about 9 million face masks per day, according to the statement.

The country allowed imports and opened new factories for manufacturing masks to help cut the prices. Fabric masks were also supplied by the Ministry of Supply and Internal Trading.

For her part, Health Minister Hala Zayed is constantly following up on Oxygen supplies, hospitals, and available beds.

The Scientific Committee to Combat Coronavirus submits a daily report on hospitals and patients, in addition to another report on the availability of drugs, as well as medical and Oxygen supplies.

Egypt’s Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed 970 new coronavirus cases bringing the country’s total cases to 151,723. Also, the covid-19 death toll has reached 8,304 nationwide after the ministry announced 55 new deaths.

Egypt’s total number of recoveries reached 119,635 so far.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Resolution 1701 Only Tangible Proposal to End Lebanon Conflict

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)
Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut. (AFP file)

Politicians in Beirut said they have not received any credible information about Washington resuming its mediation efforts towards reaching a ceasefire in Lebanon despite reports to the contrary.

Efforts came to a halt after US envoy Amos Hochstein’s last visit to Beirut three weeks ago.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dismissed the reports as media fodder, saying nothing official has been received.

Lebanon is awaiting tangible proposals on which it can build its position, he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The only credible proposal on the table is United Nations Security Council resolution 1701, whose articles must be implemented in full by Lebanon and Israel, “not just Lebanon alone,” he stressed.

Resolution 1701 was issued to end the 2006 July war between Hezbollah and Israel and calls for removing all weapons from southern Lebanon and that the only armed presence there be restricted to the army and UN peacekeepers.

Western diplomatic sources in Beirut told Asharq Al-Awsat that Berri opposes one of the most important articles of the proposed solution to end the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

He is opposed to the German and British participation in the proposed mechanism to monitor the implementation of resolution 1701. The other participants are the United States and France.

Other sources said Berri is opposed to the mechanism itself since one is already available and it is embodied in the UN peacekeepers, whom the US and France can join.

The sources revealed that the solution to the conflict has a foreign and internal aspect. The foreign one includes Israel, the US and Russia and seeks guarantees that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming itself. The second covers Lebanese guarantees on the implementation of resolution 1701.

Berri refused to comment on the media reports, but told Asharq Al-Awsat that this was the first time that discussions are being held about guarantees.

He added that “Israel is now in crisis because it has failed to achieve its military objectives, so it has resorted to more killing and destruction undeterred.”

He highlighted the “steadfastness of the UN peacekeepers in the South who have refused to leave their positions despite the repeated Israeli attacks.”