Daily COVID-19 roundup: May 31

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Here are the latest figures on COVID-19 as of Saturday, May 30:

• Senior government and health officials speaking on Saturday night continued to grapple with the rising rate of infections as Egypt gets ever nearer to the “coexisting with coronavirus” due date in mid-June.
  • Speaking about measures to contain the coronavirus, Information Minister Osama Heikal said Saturday that all options are still on the table if the infection rate in Egypt gets too high — without going into further detail. He dismissed the idea that Egypt will fully reopen next week, saying that some precautions will remain in place.
  • Commenting on the rate of infection during an appearance on the Extra News channel, Health Minister Hala Zayed said that “we cannot say we are currently at the peak of infections,” offering the rationale that “we will only know if we have reached the peak once we pass it.”
  • Head of the special Scientific Committee to Combat COVID-19, Dr. Hossam Hosni, claimed the rise in COVID-19 infections is due to a mutation in the virus. According to Hosni, the mutation produces weaker symptoms but is also more infectious.
  • Head of the Judge’s Club, Mohamed Abdel Mohsen, called on the government to extend the curfew and to postpone the reopening of public-facing government offices until the peak of infections is passed.

• The Health Ministry appeared to be continuing to tweak testing protocol and patient pathways to deal with the surge in cases on Saturday. 
  • Zayed said Saturday that people suffering from respiratory symptoms, high fever or diarrhea will be now dealt with as though they are confirmed COVID-19 patients. Zayed said people with these symptoms would undergo a CT scan and blood tests before receiving treatment, adding that PCR tests would be a secondary measure.
  • The changes to testing and treatment protocol come alongside a push to keep COVID-19 patients at home. In a meeting with health officials from across the country, Zayed has ordered medical convoys be deployed to distribute health packs to individuals who have come into contact with COVID-19 cases and are self isolating in their houses. Packs are to be distributed in the governorates of Daqahlia, Qena, Giza, Sharqiya, Qalyubiya, Ismailia, Minya and South Sinai.
  • Health Minister Hala Zayed said that the government has increased the number of hospitals that can screen suspected COVID-19 patients to 376 hospitals, up from the 320 figure broadcast before Eid. 
  • Qena General Hospital is reportedly to be used as an isolation hospital for COVID-19 cases. 
  • As for the drugs used to combat COVID-19, Hosni said that despite controversy around the effectiveness of the antimalarial, Egypt will continue to use hydroxychloroquine because the data available suggests the medication is effective. Hosni added that most countries will return to using the drug within a week and urged the public not to believe everything on social media.
  • The Doctors’ Syndicate has likewise called on its members to refrain from resorting to social media to suggest medications to treat COVID-19 cases. 
  • The Health Ministry has announced that it is adding the antiviral Remdesivir to the treatment protocols for COVID-19 patients in Egypt.
  • After using the drug for three months, the Health Ministry has removed Tamiflu from its treatment protocols for COVID-19 patients.

• Plans to reopen the economy continue regardless of the rising rate of infection, though the road to ‘coexisting with coronavirus’ is still being mapped out.
  • Flights could get off the ground toward the second half of June or the first half of July, according to Cabinet Spokesperson Nader Saad. Speaking on Saturday, Saad added that a number of  airlines have expressed willingness to begin flights to Egypt in July.
  • Cabinet, which reportedly required the withdrawal of the “coexisting with COVID-19” plan immediately after it was issued back in May, continues to make amendments to the original plan. The Cabinet now wants each minister to draw up a separate plan for their ministry, which will then be compiled into a master plan.
  • Claiming that infection rates at factories remain low, Industry Minister Nevine Gamea said her ministry has received 1,008 requests from workers asking to increase the number of shifts.
  • Yet congregational prayer at churches looks unlikely to start soon, as the Coptic Orthodox Church has extended its ban on group prayers until June 27, while the Catholic Church in Egypt has suspended congregational prayer and services open to the public indefinitely. 
  • The launch of the government’s “Sehet Masr” COVID-19 app has run into controversy, with the Cabinet’s Media Center issuing a statement on Saturday denying claims made on social media that the app is being used to spy on Egyptians. The statement said that the app is intended to provide the public with updates on COVID-19,  and that all personal information on the app is encrypted and fully protected.
  • May 30 was the first day of enforcement for a legal requirement to wear masks in public places, including on public transport and in the workplace.
  • The governor of Cairo instructed that any microbus drivers not wearing face masks should have their licenses taken away.
  • Police in Dokki, Cairo, have fined 18 people for not adhering to government mask regulations.
  • The Interior Ministry announced that it will fine microbus and taxi drivers if passengers are not wearing face masks.
  • Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad stated that individuals in private cars as well as pedestrians are not required to wear masks.
  • The National Railway Authority has announced that it will be selling face masks at all its ticketing offices at the price of LE 3.5.
  • The ministry also announced that the renewal and issuance of drivers licenses will resume on Monday.

• In news of infections among hospital workers:
  • A social media post claimed that a pregnant doctor being treated for COVID-19 was kicked out of the hospital. The Health Ministry has responded with a statement saying that the doctor was being held in Hilal Hospital, Sohag, where she had been neglected by medical staff. The statement claims that the doctor was transferred to the Sohag Teaching Hospital, where she underwent a cesarean section, and was then returned to Hilal Hospital.
  • A doctor working at the Qasr al-Ainy Hospital has reportedly resorted to self-isolation at home after contracting COVID-19 and being unable to find a bed in the hospital’s isolation ward.  
  • A doctor in the village of Ashmon, Monufiya has been taken to the Azhar Specialist Hospital after developing COVID-19 symptoms. The doctor is being treated in the hospital pending the results of his test.
  • Head of the Ambulance Authority, Dr. Mohamed Gad, said 33 paramedics in total have contracted COVID-19, one of whom has died of the disease.

• And new infections among workers were reported Saturday:
  • A fourth MP could have contracted COVID-19 as Hisham Magdy, MP for Beni Suef, is awaiting the results of a test. So far parliamentarians Nashwa al-Deeb, Sherine Farrag, and Amr al-Watany have all tested positive for the virus.
  • The Veterinarians Syndicate has shut down its headquarters for a week after a number of individuals in the Medical Occupations’ Union building, which houses the Veterinarians Syndicate, contracted COVID-19.