Egypt confirms first coronavirus case

On Friday, the Egyptian Health Ministry alongside the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the first case of coronavirus in Egypt in a public statement.

This is the first reported case of the Wuhan coronavirus in Africa, and second in the Middle East after the United Arab Emirates diagnosed its first case last month. The nationality of the person concerned or how they entered Egypt is yet to be made public. The statement further discloses that the patient hadn’t shown signs of any infection and remains in stable condition.As soon as the confirmation was made, the person was quarantined and a notification given to the World Health Organization said Khaled Megahed, as confirmed by the health ministry spokesman. On the official Twitter handle of the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, the government assured the country that they are collaborating closely with the WHO in outbreak investigation and taking the right responsive measures.The case was identified after the government implemented a follow-up screening process for foreign travelers arriving from countries where the virus had been reported.

Back in January, Alaa Eid, Assistant Minister of Health for Preventive Medicine unveiled a comprehensive strategy to fight off the spread of the virus. She assured the public that the Health Minister Hala Zayed had met with ministry officials right after the first World Health Organization statement on the virus.

WHO representative in Egypt, John Gabor, revealed that he has faith in Egypt’s preparedness in tackling the new coronavirus. He stressed on the need to adopt preventive measures to confront any new viral outbreak. 

So far, the coronavirus outbreak in China has spread to over two dozen countries. COVID-19, as it’s officially named, was first detected in Wuhan. Over 67,000 cases have been reported globally as of Saturday, of which 44 are in Europe.

This week has seen an acceleration in reported cases of infection. 15,152 new cases on the12th of February alone. This was a 600 percent rise than the day before. However, the WHO says that the numbers being reported are leveling off.