Egypt's health ministry has announced that 54 new coronavirus cases have been detected and one person has died from the virus on Wednesday. The total number of cases has now reached 456 and the number of fatalities is up to 21. The ministry added in a statement that 15 more cases – 11 Egyptians and four foreigners – have fully recovered and left isolation hospital on Wednesday. The number of people whose test results have turned from positive to negative so far has reached 113, among whom 95 have fully recovered and left isolation hospital. The 54 newly detected cases are all Egyptians who were in contact with positive cases announced before, the ministry said. The new fatality was a 63-year-old Egyptian citizen from Menoufiya governorate. “All the positive coronavirus cases are in isolation hospitals and are undergoing medical treatment according to World Health Organisation guidelines,” health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said. Egypt's Minister of Health Hala Zayed urged Egyptians to "stay at home" to help slow the spread of the coronavirus in a press conference earlier on Wednesday. "The next two or three weeks are very important," the minister said, calling on people to exercise vigilance and avoid gatherings and family visits. "It will not be worrying if we reach 1,000 [cases] in the long term. It would be worrying if we reach the figure in two or three days," Zayed said. Egypt has a good chance of beating the virus, but this will only happen if everyone follows the restrictive measures, the minister added. Egypt has declared a two-week curfew from 7pm to 6am starting Wednesday, the strictest measure taken so far to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Egypt had already halted international flights, banned mass gatherings, shuttered cinemas, mosques and churches and suspended communal prayers.
