Egypt's health ministry recorded on Wednesday 409 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country's total number of confirmed infections to 93,356 since the detection of the first case on 14 February. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement the new cases were detected through the ministry's investigation and contact tracing protocols. The statement added that the total number of COVID-19 deaths has now reached 4,728 nationwide, after announcing 37 deaths today. Megahed also said that 1,066 patients have fully recovered and left isolation hospitals on Wednesday, which brings the total number of recoveries from the virus so far to 37,025. In a separate statement by the cabinet earlier in the day, Health Minister Hala Zayed said Egypt's weekly COVID-19 infection rate has gone down for the fifth consecutive week. In the period between 18 and 24 July, 4,360 coronavirus cases were detected nationwide, compared to 5,413 cases detected from 11 to 17 July, the statement noted. During a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the minister highlighted a report by the World Health Organisation which stated that Egypt has the lowest infection rate in the Middle East. Despite the recent lifting of lockdown measures, Egypt has been seeing a significant drop in its daily detected coronavirus cases, with the country's daily record — 1,774 infections recorded on 19 June — unbroken to date. Minister Zayed stated that the process of shutting down makeshift isolation facilities at youth hostels started on 8 June, and that the last patients isolated at youth hostels nationwide were discharged on Tuesday. The minister previously said coronavirus patients who show mild or no symptoms are placed in quarantine facilities, youth hostels and university dorms, while isolation hospital beds are reserved for critically ill patients.
