Egypt confirmed on Saturday 698 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of cases nationwide since mid-February to 87,172, said the health ministry.
It marked the 10th consecutive day for Egypt’s daily COVID-19 infections to be below 1,000, with a record of 1,774 infections on June 19.
In a statement, health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said 63 patients died from the virus, bringing the death toll 4,251.
He added that 566 others were cured and discharged from hospitals, taking the total recoveries to 27,868.
Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8.
The North African country resumed international flights on July 1 after more than three months of suspension, amid a coexistence plan to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.
The government has recently lifted a partial nighttime curfew it had been imposing since late March, and reopened restaurants, cafes, theaters and cinemas, as well as hotels, museums and archeological sites for tourists, all with limited capacity.
Egypt and China have been joining hands in fighting the pandemic through exchanging medical aid and expertise.
In early February, Egypt provided aid to China to help with its fight against COVID-19 and China later sent three batches of medical aid to Egypt, the latest of which was in mid-May.
“So far, Chinese medical experts have held eight video conferences with Egyptian counterparts over COVID-19,” Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said earlier this month.
