Egypt on Friday confirmed it has not detected a new COVID-19 variant in the country as the health ministry continued to expand the vaccination drive.
The ministry said on Friday it recorded 919 new coronavirus cases, upping the total number of infections to 341,188.
In a statement, ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said 60 patients died from complications caused by the disease over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 19,309.
As many as 622 patients were discharged from hospitals after receiving medical care, taking the number of recoveries to 285,615.
The ministry also said it continues to take all necessary preventive measures against any viruses or infectious diseases.
“The ministry has not detected any new COVID-19 variants in the country. We are now witnessing the fourth wave of the pandemic, but compared to the last wave, the infection rates are lower,” Megahed said.
The spokesperson announced that the ministry is vaccinating 500,000 people per day.
There is a drive to expand the delivery of vaccines and increase the online registration of citizens on the ministry’s website dedicated for the vaccination campaign, he said.
The ministry renewed its calls to implement precautionary measures after receiving the vaccine and stressed the importance of wearing face masks, ensuring social distancing, and washing hands constantly to avoid getting infected.
