Daily COVID-19 roundup: July 14

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Here are the latest figures on COVID-19 as of Monday, July 13:

What were officials saying about COVID-19 on Tuesday?

“Losses due to COVID-19 are between LE 125-130 billion”— Finance Minister Mohamed Maeit  

Speaking on how the effects of the pandemic are playing out in the economy, Finance Minister Mohamed Maiet spoke to anchor Ahmed Moussa’s Ala Masouleity TV show on Monday night.

Explaining the LE130 million loss figure, the finance minister said these were accounted for by government spending to try and contain the effects of the pandemic, mentioning the three months of cash grants given to informal workers, as well as a bailout for the aviation sector.

Maiet also explained that the losses have also been sustained to expected budget revenues, particularly from taxes. 

The losses incurred by the state coffers in the aftermath of the outbreak of COVID-19 were absorbed due to reaching primary surpluses in the state budget over the past fiscal years and due to the economic reform program, said Maiet. 

A prolonged halt of service activities and a drop in demand caused by layoffs and a plunge in wages has led to a retreat in consumption. Maiet told television host Ahmed Moussa that 75 percent of the state budget revenue normally comes from taxes.

Maiet cautioned that the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to make itself felt on the economy. Only 62 percent of the LE100 billion the president allocated to curbing the economic repercussions of the pandemic has been spent so far, added Maiet.

Shockwaves continue to affect the aviation and tourism sectors, with several tourist companies calling on the tourism minister to work to postpone the collection of fees for visiting nature reserves that host sea trips and diving activities, according to Al-Masry Al-Youm. During a conference between officials from Arab states, Egyptian Deputy Minister for Tourism Ghada Shalaby suggested an initiative between Arab states to stimulate tourism. She emphasized that the tourists who have come to Egypt since travel restrictions were lifted on July 1 have returned home safely without contracting COVID-19. 

In the agriculture sector, MP Mahmoud Shaalan suggested giving small farms zero-interest loans to help them cope with the effects of COVID-19 going forward. The representative from Beheira said that the farmers are particularly vulnerable, and have struggled to cope during the crisis.

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Hospitals capacity and patient care

A couple of pushes in the health sector to better the supply of oxygen and plasma suggested coronavirus is still high on the agenda, while space appeared to be opening up in some places for patients with other diseases to get treatment as well. But with the death of journalist Mohamed Monir on Monday and a patient discovered outside a hospital in Sohag, hospital admissions still appear to be a problem. 

The Monufiya health administration is designing an online platform to monitor the oxygen supply at hospitals in the governorate throughout the day to avoid persistent oxygen shortages, reports Cairo24. The data gathered through the online platform is intended to facilitate a timely and efficient response to any future shortages

Sisi met with the health minister and prime minister on Monday, directing them to work on improving Egypt’s ability to handle products made from blood plasma. The president stressed that the aim was for Egypt to be able to handle plasma independently. He told the Cabinet to stick to international standards.

The body of a man suspected to have died from COVID-19 was found near the Sohag General Hospital, Cairo24 has reported. An image of the man went viral on social media. Sources told Cairo24 that he was a kidney patient, and that people refused to transfer him into the hospital after his death for fear of contracting the coronavirus

Anecdotal accounts from hospital managers suggest a decrease in the number of coronavirus cases going to hospital. Deputy manager of the Imbaba Fever Hospital told Cairo24 that the number of new cases has decreased over the past couple of days, while the manager of the 15th of May isolation hospital recounted a drop in the number of new cases for the first time since the outbreak in March

The Health Ministry has set up a hotline for patients of chronic illnesses. In Ismailia, health centers are also beginning to treat patients with chronic illnesses again, with Al-Masry Al-Youm reporting that the move represents a push to restart other Health Ministry initiatives and treatment campaigns given the apparent lull in coronavirus infections. Prioritizing chronic illnesses was part of a presidential initiative to reduce patient waiting lists. As an MP warned a few days ago however, it's unclear yet whether re-opening the economy will bring numbers back up again, as fourteen days — the incubation period for COVID-19 — have only just elapsed since the initial reopening.

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Who cares for healthcare workers?

Muhammad Refaat Atiya al-Sawy, who oversees the ambulance operations room in Kafr al-Sheikh, has contracted COVID-19 

The number of doctors who have died due to infection by coronavirus reportedly increased to 131 on Monday. Dr. Ahmed Lotfy Ibrahim, an anesthetist who was working in a hospital in Saudi Arabia, reportedly died of complications from the virus on Monday. 

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Working with COVID-19

With congressional prayer still prohibited on Sundays and Fridays, the Coptic Orthodox Church has postponed all services in Cairo and Alexandria until August 3 

A post office in Sohag has closed down after one of its employees was diagnosed with the coronavirus. Workers at the office will self-isolate for a 14-day period.

According to the Manpower Ministry, workers in the UAE have been invited to renew residencies that expired in March and April who were unable to renew their permits due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Lots of Egyptian workers have had to return home, however, while others have been pressured to accept altered contracts if they are to stay in the UAE. Read more on how the coronavirus has affected Egyptian workers in the Gulf here. The UAE, among other countries in the Gulf, is also looking to reduce its heavy reliance on foreign labor.