The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on Egypt to increase the number of COVID-19 tests, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) Director Rana al-Hajjah said on Tuesday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th May, 2020) The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on Egypt to increase the number of COVID-19 tests, WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) Director Rana al-Hajjah said on Tuesday.
"As for the situation in Egypt, I would like to say that here in EMRO, we provide technical support ... We closely follow the epidemiological situation with the Ministry of Health. We engage in discussions with the Ministry of Health concerning the necessary measures [to tackle the COVID-19 crisis]. One of the important measures taken in order to curb the spread of the epidemic is to increase the number of tests, people need to be isolated ... and then we will be able to contain the epidemic," Hajjah said.
The EMRO head also called on the Egyptian authorities to follow up on all COVID-19 cases in the country, especially those who were hospitalized, in order to reduce the virus-related mortality rate and the number of patients suffering from severe disease symptoms.
On Thursday, the Egyptian president's Health Affairs Adviser, Mohamed Tag El-Din, said that Cairo has so far conducted over one million tests to detect the coronavirus. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced that the measures against COVID-19 would be extended until May 24.
Following this statement, a spokesperson of the country's government, Nader Saad, said on Friday that Cairo was planning to reopen cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other places of public gathering that were closed due to the global pandemic starting on June 1, while making wearing masks mandatory.
To date, the Egyptian Health Ministry has registered 9,746 COVID-19 cases, with 533 coronavirus-related deaths and 2,172 recoveries.
