Egypt registered 206 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, bringing the total case tally nationwide to 97,825 cases since the detection of the first case in February, according to a health ministry statement. The ministry also reported 19 new deaths, bringing the total fatalities from the coronavirus to 5,317. A total of 996 patients have been discharged from hospitals, bringing the total number of recoveries so far to 68,713. Egypt has recently witnessed a slight increase in the daily tally of the cases since the weekend. In a separate statement released on Wednesday, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly called on people to exercise caution to prevent a second wave of the pandemic, adding that Egypt will maintain the existing preventive measures against the disease, particularly with the advent of autumn. "The noticeable increase in the number of infections recently prompts us to [exercise] caution, and to maintain the strict precautionary measures and penalties for violators to prevent a second wave of the coronavirus and avoid an increase in the curve of infections and deaths as has happened in some countries," the statement quoted Madbouly as saying during the cabinet's weekly meeting. During the same meeting, Health Minister Hala Zayed demanded public and state institutions maintain strict precautions to prevent a second wave, which she said may force the state to reinstate tough measures to ensure people's commitment to the precautions. "The occurrence of a second wave is associated with a false sense of safety among people that the epidemic is over," the minister added.
