Egypt detected 642 new coronavirus infections on Thursday, bringing total infections since last year to 193,482. The health ministry reported 41 deaths to bring the death toll since the outbreak to 11,472. It added that 399 patients have been discharged from hospitals following recovery, bringing recoveries to 148,823. Egypt began vaccinating priority groups earlier in March under a wider rollout of the vaccination program after it concluded the vaccination of the country's medical staff in the past few weeks. It has now opened registration for all citizens who are 18 and older. Up to 20,000 Egyptians register on a daily basis on the government's website to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to health minister Hala Zayed on Wednesday. Around 500,000 Egyptians are expected to have registered for vaccination by the end of the month, according to the minister. The expansion comes as it pushes with efforts to secure vaccines for the overpopulous nation as it expands its immunization program. It currently administers the Chinese Sinopharm and the British-Swedish Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, both of which were granted emergency use authorisation by authorities earlier this year. Egypt is scheduled to receive five million doses of the Oxford AstraZenca vaccine, making up the first batch, by the end of the March via COVAX alliance. The second batch of the AstraZenca vaccine, three million doses, shall be received in May.
