Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II has urged people to take precautions during the 2021 holiday season to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.
He also said the Christmas mass will be held in January at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in Egypt's new administrative capital, affirming that the church will maintain all precautionary measures, including social distancing and face masks.
This came as the Health Ministry reported 879 new COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths on Wednesday.
The new infections raised the total number of cases since the pandemic began to 377,960, including 314,452 recoveries. Also, COVID death toll reached 21,500.
Meanwhile, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said measures have been taken to help citizens who missed their appointments take their second vaccine jabs.
The ministry has increased the number of the mobile text messages sent to citizens to receive their second dose, Abdel-Ghaffar told the cabinet on Thursday, affirming that 340,000 citizens have responded so far.
