Egypt to Produce 40 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in 2021

Students abiding by the precautionary measures against the coronavirus while taking exams in Giza. (EPA)
Students abiding by the precautionary measures against the coronavirus while taking exams in Giza. (EPA)
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Egypt to Produce 40 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses in 2021

Students abiding by the precautionary measures against the coronavirus while taking exams in Giza. (EPA)
Students abiding by the precautionary measures against the coronavirus while taking exams in Giza. (EPA)

Egypt has said it will produce 40 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine in the coming six months.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education and Technical Education affirmed that schools would take the necessary precautions to limit the spread of the pandemic during high school exams.

The procedures include physical distancing among students, measuring their temperature, sanitizing all halls and committing to wearing facemasks.

The Egyptian cabinet further denied rumors about dedicating special exam halls for coronavirus patients, saying the exams will be postponed for those infected with the virus.

The Health Ministry revealed that Egypt has so far provided medical aid to 38 Arab and African countries to face the pandemic.

In a video conference Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed and State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry of Health Sabine Weiss discussed the coronavirus situation in Egypt.

Zayed said Egypt has a low rate of infections despite its large population.

She also noted that despite Egypt being hit by three waves of the pandemic, the highest single-day tally of cases has never exceeded 1,700.

Egypt’s Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Mujahid revealed in a statement that the meeting tackled cooperation in exchanging health data regarding the coronavirus.

According to Mujahid, the Egyptian minister showcased the vaccine production plan and export to African countries, with the assistance of the Egyptian Unified Procurement Authority (UPA).

The Health Ministry said that 606 new coronavirus cases have been detected, upping the total number of confirmed infections since the outbreak of the disease in the country to 275,010.

Further, 32 patients have died from the virus, the ministry said, raising the death toll to 15,723.



Israel: We Will Continue to Fight Hezbollah Until Victory

A cloud of smoke erupts during an Israeli air strike on a village outside Tyre in southern Lebanon on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
A cloud of smoke erupts during an Israeli air strike on a village outside Tyre in southern Lebanon on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
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Israel: We Will Continue to Fight Hezbollah Until Victory

A cloud of smoke erupts during an Israeli air strike on a village outside Tyre in southern Lebanon on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)
A cloud of smoke erupts during an Israeli air strike on a village outside Tyre in southern Lebanon on September 26, 2024. (Photo by Kawnat HAJU / AFP)

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Thursday rejected proposals for a ceasefire in Lebanon after the United States, France and several Arab countries called for a 21-day halt in the fighting to allow time to reach a diplomatic solution.

"There will be no ceasefire in the north. We will continue to fight against the Hezbollah terrorist organization with all our strength until victory and the safe return of the residents of the north to their homes," he said in a statement on the social media platform X.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who left Israel on Thursday to address the United Nations, issued a statement that said he had ordered the military to keep fighting with full force, in accordance with operational plans.

"This is an American-French proposal that the Prime Minister has not even responded to," his office said in a statement.

Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters before a Security Council meeting on Wednesday that Israel would welcome a ceasefire and preferred a diplomatic solution. He then told the Council that Iran was the nexus of violence in the region and peace required dismantling the threat.

The Israeli military said Thursday it was targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure, including weapons storage facilities and rocket launchers.

The military said around 45 projectiles were fired from Lebanon on Thursday, all of them either intercepted or falling in open areas. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack ignited the war in Gaza, hoping to pin down Israeli forces. Both Hezbollah and Hamas are close allies of Iran.

The fighting has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes on both sides of the Lebanese-Israeli border. Israel has vowed to do whatever is necessary to allow its citizens to return, and has moved thousands of troops to the northern border in preparation for what could be a ground campaign into southern Lebanon.

The United States, France and other allies called Wednesday for an “immediate” 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 600 people in Lebanon in recent days.

The joint statement, negotiated on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, says the recent fighting is “intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation.”

But Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads one of two nationalist-religious factions in the governing coalition, said Thursday Hezbollah should be crushed and that only its surrender would make it possible for the evacuees to return.