Egypt reported 20 new coronavirus deaths on Saturday, bringing the total number of fatalities up to 612 nationwide, the health ministry announced in a statement. The ministry also reported 491 new coronavirus infections on the same day, bringing the total number of detected coronavirus cases up to 11,719. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said that 151 COVID-19 patients have been discharged from hospital on Saturday, bringing the total number of recoveries to 2,950. Megahed added that the number of people whose test results have turned from positive to negative, including the 2,950 recoveries, has now reached 3,526 individuals. Egypt surpassed 11,000 coronavirus cases on Friday 15 May, almost three months after the first case was confirmed on 14 February. It took the respiratory virus seven weeks to reach 1,000 infections in Egypt, and five days to move from 10,000 to 11,000 cases. Although the current infection rate is high, it is not as high as it was the previous two weeks, during which it took only six days to reach 10,000 from 8,000 cases. Measures applied by the government since mid-March to contain the outbreak include closing schools and universities, mosques and churches and suspending international flights. The cabinet has also imposed a curfew, in place since 25 March, which was initially from 7pm to 6am but was shortened at the beginning of Ramadan to begin at 9pm. Egypt has relaxed some restrictions in recent days. Car licensing units at traffic departments, real estate registry offices, and some court services have reopened. Moreover, the ministry recently announced a three-stage plan detailing the steps to “the gradual return of normal life in the country.”
