The Egyptian government has announced having a surplus of COVID-19 vaccine jabs, pledging to inoculate 40 percent of the citizens before the end of the year.
The Health Ministry reported 934 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 340,269 since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The ministry added in its daily coronavirus briefing that 63 new deaths related to COVID-19 complications were recorded in the past 24 hours nationwide, raising the toll to 19,249.
Recoveries have risen to 284,993.
Dr. Mohamed Awad Taj El-Din, adviser to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for health affairs, said Egypt has reached the peak of its fourth COVID-19 wave, noting that the number of cases will begin to decline after a while.
In statements on Wednesday, Taj el-Din said the country is currently witnessing a spike in coronavirus cases, stressing that the rate of infections could only decrease if people adhered to the health preventive measures and received the vaccine.
He affirmed that the inoculation process has become a key precautionary measure.
Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad for his part, said that starting from November 15, universities will not allow unvaccinated students to enter the campus or classrooms.
The state is keen to implement the decision to prevent employees from attending the workplace without a certificate proving they received the COVID-19 vaccine, Saad noted.
Starting from early December, unvaccinated citizens will not be allowed to enter government departments, he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Education for Teacher Affairs Dr. Reda Hegazy said 1.374 thousand teachers and administrators have been vaccinated so far across Egyptian governorates, constituting 86 percent of the education staff.
“The remaining 226,000 will receive the vaccine in the coming days,” he confirmed.
