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Egypt Begins Issuing Covid Vaccination Certificates

Egypt begins issuing cerificates for people vaccinated against the coronavirus. (Health Ministry via Facebook)
Egypt begins issuing cerificates for people vaccinated against the coronavirus. (Health Ministry via Facebook)
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Egypt Begins Issuing Covid Vaccination Certificates

Egypt begins issuing cerificates for people vaccinated against the coronavirus. (Health Ministry via Facebook)
Egypt begins issuing cerificates for people vaccinated against the coronavirus. (Health Ministry via Facebook)

The Health Ministry in Egypt has kicked off the issuance of certificates for people who have received the coronavirus vaccine.

Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Saturday that 126 centers nationwide have started to issue certificates for people who wish to document that they were vaccinated against the virus.

Health Ministry Spokesperson Khaled Megahed explained that the certificates are secured by Egypt's recently inaugurated Secured and Smart Documents Complex and have QR codes, which can easily be verified at airports worldwide.

When scanning the QR code via a mobile phone, the certificate holder’s information will appear, Megahed added.

He stated that the Egypt Health Passport application is being finalized in two versions for Android and iPhone users to serve as an electronic health passport that can be used at international airports by showing the vaccination status.

It also shows the vaccination status through a traffic light color system of red if the person did not receive the vaccine, yellow if the person received a first dose, and green if the person received two shots.

Authorities expect to administer 148.2 million Covid-19 vaccine shots between August and until the end of the years. The doses will be enough to inoculate 83.7 million people, said health authorities.

The Health Ministry urges people to book an appointment to get the vaccine through the dedicated website.

Egypt has confirmed 284,215 infections, 16,518 deaths and 229,712 recoveries. A total of 45 new coronavirus cases and four deaths were reported on Friday.

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Al-Qusayr: Freed from the Nightmare of the Syrian Regime and Hezbollah

Destruction in Al-Qusayr (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Destruction in Al-Qusayr (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Al-Qusayr: Freed from the Nightmare of the Syrian Regime and Hezbollah

Destruction in Al-Qusayr (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Destruction in Al-Qusayr (Asharq Al-Awsat)

At the Shanshar crossroads on the Homs-Damascus highway, there once stood one of the largest checkpoints operated jointly by the former Syrian regime’s forces. Supervised by the Fourth Division’s Security Office and Military Intelligence, the checkpoint is now abandoned. The heavily armed personnel who instilled fear, extorted money, and monitored every movement for over 12 years are gone, leaving a lasting impression of oppression, according to residents of rural Homs.
Makram, a resident of Al-Qusayr, described its removal as liberation from “a terrifying nightmare called the Shanshar checkpoint—a symbol of terror and humiliation.” Over the years, hundreds of young men were detained at the checkpoint, which lies 10 kilometers from Al-Qusayr and 15 kilometers from Homs.
The regime’s collapse last month brought down all checkpoints isolating Al-Qusayr, erected since Hezbollah took control of the town in 2012 to use it as a gateway for expanding its influence.
Fahima Mikhail, 85, expressed her relief: “Finally, Al-Qusayr is free from Hezbollah and Bashar. We have rid ourselves of a heavy nightmare.” Fahima, who was displaced between 2012 and 2015, recalled returning to a town devoid of its original inhabitants. “When we came back, we didn’t find our neighbors, friends, or relatives. The faces were all strangers who treated us like unwelcome guests,” she said.
She also recalled the horror of Israeli airstrikes targeting Al-Qusayr’s industrial zone, sometimes hitting areas near schools during class hours. “Hezbollah brought destruction to us,” she remarked.
Speaking about the regime’s checkpoints, Fahima said the locals endured humiliation and deprivation. “They impoverished the people, starved them, and imposed taxes on everything. Even if a poor man smuggled a liter of cooking oil from Lebanon to feed his children, they extorted him. Bread was obtained through humiliation, and we were deprived of electricity and water. The Orontes River’s waters were given by Bashar to hashish farmers who uprooted apricot and apple trees to plant narcotics instead.”
Having witnessed the French Mandate and every war in Syria, Fahima declared that Bashar al-Assad’s era was “the harshest.” She concluded: “Thank God, He didn’t disappoint us. They all fell in one day, and their chapter was closed. The real people of Al-Qusayr have returned—those we know, and who know us.”
Amid the devastation, a family returning from Lebanon unloaded household items near a house with cracked walls and missing doors and windows. The mother said: “We wanted to come back as soon as Al-Qusayr was liberated, but we waited 20 days because we feared crossing the border without proper papers.” Despite their home being “70 percent destroyed,” she said it was still better than a refugee tent.
Her 11-year-old daughter, Rahaf Mansour, expressed happiness despite the destruction. With rubble from Israeli airstrikes surrounding them, Rahaf said: “We’ve returned to our homeland, and now I can go to school and learn. In Lebanon, I didn’t have papers and was denied an education along with my siblings.”
Passersby greeted the family warmly, congratulating them on their “safety and victory.” “They recognized us by our faces,” the mother explained, sparing them the indignity of proving their identity.
Local estimates indicate that over 700 families have returned to Al-Qusayr from refugee camps in Lebanon and Idlib since the fall of the Assad regime. Some found their homes destroyed and moved into partially damaged houses, while others occupied homes abandoned by former regime loyalists. Many set up tents near the ruins of their homes.
A local security officer, speaking anonymously, confirmed that some Shiite families and regime loyalists who fled after Assad’s fall have also returned to Al-Qusayr. While tensions have arisen due to past grievances, efforts are underway to mediate disputes and maintain stability in the town.