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)
TT

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.



Ex-Tunisian Minister Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Former Environment Minister Riadh Mouakher (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Former Environment Minister Riadh Mouakher (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Ex-Tunisian Minister Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

Former Environment Minister Riadh Mouakher (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Former Environment Minister Riadh Mouakher (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Criminal Chamber specialized in financial corruption cases at the Court of First Instance of Tunis, sentenced on Friday former Environment Minister Riadh Mouakher to three years in prison, the Tunisian official news agency, TAP, reported.
The ruling is part of a corruption case related to breaches in a transaction carried out by the former minister for the purchase of several vehicles.
Investigation showed that the tender conditions were allegedly manipulated in favor of one particulate supplier.
In addition to Mouakher, the Chamber condemned a civil protection executive, seconded to the Environment Ministry, to two years in prison.
The two defendants are found guilty of abusing their functions to obtain an undue advantage, and therefore causing harm to the administration and contravening the regulations in force.
On Thursday, the Criminal Chamber specialized in corruption cases at the Tunis Court of First Instance sentenced a security officer to three years in prison and four others to four years in prison on charges of abusing their functions to obtain an undue advantage and harm others.
The five security officers had formed a group for the purpose of attacking property and exploiting a public employee.
According to documents related to the case, surveillance activities revealed that the five defendants, who work at a central department, were involved in seizing private funds, giving night jobs to some department agents, and transferring the profits to their personal accounts.
Their case was first examined by the Financial Chamber, which decided to sentence the five security guards to prison.
The case was later referred to the Criminal Chamber that examines financial corruption cases. The chamber had earlier kept the five defendants at liberty, before issuing late on Thursday the prison sentences.