The number of fatalities among Egypt's doctors from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has increased to 131, Dr Ibrahim El-Zayat, a council member at the Egyptian Medical Syndicate (EMS), said on Monday. Over 3,000 doctors have been infected with the virus so far, of whom 600 are in isolation hospitals currently, El-Zayat added. On Monday, the Ministry of Health reported 931 new coronavirus cases and 77 new fatalities across Egypt. The country's total number of confirmed cases has now reached 83,001 with 3,935 fatalities, the ministry added. A total of 24,975 cases have recovered and been discharged from quarantine facilities at hospitals. Also on Monday, Minister of Health Hala Zayed announced that all employees at the ministry's headquarters and its affiliated entities would return to official working hours. Although Zayed added that all employees will be returning to work as in the pre-coronavirus period, a date has yet to be announced for when this will happen. The heads of the ministry's sections, central departments and general managers should ensure that all government-implemented precautionary measures are in place, including the wearing of face masks. The Ministry of Health said that those employees infected with the coronavirus would be granted exceptional leave in accordance with a letter from the Medical Committee for Health Insurance. Amjad Al-Haddad, head of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Serum and Vaccine Authority, said Egypt's recent decrease in coronavirus infections numbers can be attributed to three reasons. He explained that the recent state-imposed precautionary measures have helped to curb the spread of the virus. These measures included social distancing, and the mandatory wearing of face masks. Al-Haddad added that citizen awareness and compliance with the precautionary and preventive measures has also helped reduce infections numbers. "The mask remained necessary in our life and lifestyle, which is more important because the coronavirus so far has no treatment," he said. He added further that the infection rate has reached its peak, after which viruses tend to decline in numbers of cases.
