Daily COVID-19 roundup: June 11

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Here are the latest figures on COVID-19 as of Wednesday, June 10:

The Cabinet is plowing ahead with its plans to reopen the economy in mid-June, despite a foreboding prediction on Wednesday from Dr. Hossam Hosny of the state’s Scientific Committee, who anticipated a second peak in cases.

• Tourism featured heavily in the Cabinet’s plans on Wednesday, with: 
  • Flights set to begin again in mid-June. No exact date as of yet, but Cabinet revealed that international flights heading to the tourist governorates (read South Sinai, the Red Sea and Matrouh) would be the first to take off. An Emirati company committed to starting flights to Cairo from July 1. 
  • Free tourist visas for visitors to Egypt until the end of October, if they fly directly to tourist sites. 
  • An obligation for visiting tourists to sign a declaration saying they have not contracted the virus or been in contact with people have had the virus, that they don’t suspect they have contracted it, and that they experienced no COVID-19 symptoms in the 14 days previous to their date of travel.
  • EgyptAir will get relief on payments it owes to the Petroleum Ministry after the PM announced that interest on the debts would be cut to 50%. A contract between EgyptAir and Egypt Petroleum lays out an eight-year installment plan, due to start within a year.
  • 22  more hotels acquired health and safety clearance on Wednesday, meaning that at least 177 hotels nationwide are currently hosting domestic tourists.
  • There’s still a limit on how many occupants can stay at the hotels. It’s capped at 50 percent at the moment, with the Cabinet saying Wednesday it will be raised to 75 percent in October.
  • “Visits to the Giza Pyramids, Karnak Temple and Tutankhamun's tomb” will also reopen soon with a ten-person per time cap on entries, according to comments Tourism Minister Khaled al-Anany made to France-Presse on Wednesday.
  • Hurghada Museum is to reopen on June 20.
  • More relief measures for hotels were also on the table on Wednesday, as MPs in the Parliamentary select committee for tourism called for hotels to get an extension on bill payments for electricity, gas and water to help keep them afloat during the remainder of the lockdown.
     
• It looks like there’s also a move to reopen restaurants and cafes. Cabinet set out conditions they would have to meet, including:
  • Getting a health and safety certificate.
  • Committing to operate at 50% capacity.
  • Operating central air conditioning.
  • Ensuring tables are separated by two meters, and people by one meter, with a maximum of six people per table.
  • Banning parties and large gatherings. 
  • Placing signs at entrances to warn off anyone with COVID-19 symptoms from entering the restaurant. Open buffets can continue to work, though shisha will remain prohibited.
• Other first steps in June will include “looking into commencing religious observances at places of worship,” PM Mostafa Madbuly said during Cabinet’s Wednesday meeting. He cautioned that they’d “take some time over it, exploring the most suitable protocols, timing and procedures to ensure citizens’ safety.”
• A final plan for resuming sports will be ready next week, with mid-June penciled in
• High school exams are also still set to go ahead on June 21, and Hala Zayed presented the health and safety plans to Cabinet today. A daily report on the number of COVID-19 cases emerging during the exams is due to be produced.
• TV anchor Ahmed Moussa commended ministers’ efforts to draw back the restrictions on movement, saying, “ I expected measures to be relaxed tomorrow.”  
• State media is ready and waiting to back the “coexisting with coronavirus” drive, with the Information Ministry poised to fund the production of a promotional film on coexisting with coronavirus.
   
• Health officials said Wednesday that Egypt is currently at the peak of its pandemic, remaining calm about the prospect of reopening the economy soon, despite the WHO’s advising East Mediterranean countries to keep preventative measures in place.
  • “The increasing number of coronavirus cases in Egypt is no cause for alarm,” Health Minister Hala Zayed told the president during a meeting today, where she presented a plan to combat COVID-19 in the coming months. 
  • The Health Ministry also revealed that the highest infection rates are central to Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia. 
  • Dr. Hossam Hosni, who heads on the state’s Scientific Committee to Combat COVID-19, said that Egypt was currently in its peak, though he anticipated another peak in September or October
  • Egypt is currently conducting around just 6,000 PCR tests per day, according to the Health Ministry's Central Department of Laboratories. Half of the tests are reportedly being done in Cairo. 
  • The Health Ministry estimated that 10,000 cases are currently quarantining at home. 
  • WHO officials also commented on the pandemic in Egypt:
    • WHO Regional Adviser Dr. Maha Talaat said, “We may see a second wave of coronavirus in Egypt” at a presser.
    • WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, warned countries against rolling back protective measures against the coronavirus, saying there is no treatment for the virus until now.
       
• After Egypt began trialing plasma treatments:
  • During the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Health Minister Hala Zayed shared progress in the trials, reporting that plasma was used to treat 19 critical or severe COVID-19 cases, of which four had recovered, seven were improving and four had died.
  • State-sponsored media is encouraging recovered patients to donate plasma
  • Al-Azhar has also launched a campaign to encourage people to donate plasma. The MoH says the number of donors increased right away after the launch.
     
• A couple of news items on Wednesday showed concerns around patients accessing hospitals, as some continued to point to overpricing at private hospitals.
  • The governor of Aswan urged hospitals to receive COVID-19 cases via ambulances.
  • A field hospital is set to open soon in front of the Ain Shams Teaching Hospital according to the higher education minister. The Military Engineering Authority worked on the project with university hospitals and research centers. The president commented on private hospital pricing for the first time, urging the Health Ministry and the private health sector to cooperate to provide better healthcare services for citizens at “reasonable prices.”
  • An MP has asked for the PM and the health minister to answer questions on the pricing, condemning the fact that private hospitals still haven’t committed to the Health Ministry’s recommended pricing.
  • MP Magdy Morshed called for punitive measures against those selling masks without the proper supply documents. 
• The Health Ministry doled out penalties on Wednesday to doctors who had taken action against their work conditions, while new medical graduates have still not been deployed to hospitals across the country. 
  • 10 doctors and pharmacists were transferred from Damanhur Hospital to other hospitals outside of the governorate for refusing to “perform their duties.” Cairo24 reports that the pharmacists were punished for demanding PCR tests before beginning work.
  • 75% of the cohort of newly qualified doctors who graduated in March have refused to register in for their residency placements under a new system. MP Fayez Barakat has asked for the PM and health minister to take MPs questions on what they are doing to resolve the “crisis,” expressing fear that doctors might travel elsewhere to seek work now that flights might resume soon.

Who cares for the healthcare workers?

• News continued to come in of infections and deaths among the front line medical teams facing the coronavirus on Wednesday.
  • Without mentioning the high infection rate or the complaints among doctors, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged ministers to ensure the “highest possible prevention measures, and to ensure medical supplies are at hospitals to preserve the safety of all employees in the health sector,” as well as “expressing appreciation for the great efforts made by medical teams during this exceptional period.” 
  • Four doctors lost their lives today to COVID-19 according to news reports, including Dr. Bahaa Hamam, a radiologist from Zagazig, Dr. Salem Khalil, Professor of Urology at the Faculty of Human Medicine at the Zagazig University, a member of staff at the Hehia General Hospital, and Dr. Sayed Nadi Kamel Mohamed, a dietitian at the Samalout. 
  • A nurse is reported to have died at Beni Suef University hospital three days after giving birth. COVID-19 tests have been conducted to determine the cause of death.
  • At Assiut University Hospital, the head of the Chest Unit has contracted COVID-19, while in Damanhour, a pharmacist named Samia al-Assar tested positive for the virus on Wednesday.

Working with COVID-19

• COVID-19 continued to impact people who’ve worked through the pandemic on Wednesday.
  • At home:
    • 82 employees at the Egyptian Co. For Metro Management & Operation have gone into quarantine, and are suspected to have contracted COVID-19.
    • The Dentists Syndicate has shut down its HQ after eight of its members tested positive.
    • Former head of the Investments Authority, and of the EGX Mohsen Adel has died of COVID-19.
  • Abroad:
    • Saudi Arabia has granted rights for remote litigation to be used for Egyptians involved in labor cases, given the suspension of court sessions due to COVID-19. Egyptians who work in Saudi Arabia will now be able to follow up on ongoing cases in Saudi Arabia online, whether they are claimants or defendants, according to labor advisor in Riyadh, Ahmed Rajai.