Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inaugurated a new quarantine field hospital at the Ain Shams University in Cairo just as the country registered on Monday its highest single-day COVID-19 deaths with 97 fatalities.
The hospital is scheduled to begin work on Thursday as part of efforts to expand the medical services and testing for coronavirus patients.
The facility will offer a drive-through coronavirus testing service, which will take swabs and samples using a mobile testing unit.
Ain Shams University President Mahmoud El-Matiny said the hospital will operate based on the latest international medical standards and is being equipped with the required medical supplies and equipment.
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said the field hospital spans over 4,600 square meters and has a total of 200 beds.
According to local media, the hospital, which took 15 days to build, cost EGP 28 million.
Egypt’s COVID-19 death toll is now 1,672, according to the Egyptian Health Ministry.
On Sunday, Egypt registered a new record of 91 single-day fatalities from the novel coronavirus.
The first confirmed coronavirus infection in the country was reported on February 14. The first death from the respiratory disease was registered on March 8.
Madbouly instructed an increase in the number of university hospitals offering treatment for the virus in Cairo, Giza and Qaliubiya governorates, where some of the highest infection rates were reported.
