Egypt on Friday stressed the importance of implementing preventative measures to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19, also calling on the population to get vaccinated.
The appeal came as the number of daily infections continued to rise.
The Health Ministry said Friday that 569 new coronavirus cases were detected over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 295,051.
In a statement, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said 13 patients died from complications caused by the disease, raising the death toll to 16,921.
As many as 447 patients were discharged from hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recoveries to 248,425, he added.
Dr. Mohamed Awad Taj El-Din, adviser to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for health affairs said people must adhere to social distancing and wearing face masks, warning that the country is being hit by a fourth wave of the coronavirus.
Taj El-Din said Egypt is taking all measures to preserve the health of the population.
In a television interview broadcast Thursday, the presidential advisor explained that Egypt has exerted all efforts to raise the efficiency of the health system to confront the pandemic.
He stressed that Egypt has allocated $191 million to secure coronavirus vaccine doses to the people and is working to secure the largest possible number of jabs.
Dr. Hossam Hosni, the head of the scientific committee to combat the coronavirus, said vaccines are considered life savers.
Health Minister Hala Zayed announced on Friday the launch of the “Let’s Calm Down Together .. Register Now” vaccination campaign in Qalyubia, Fayoum and Dakahlia to encourage citizens to register on the website and receive the jabs on the same day.
Megahed said that more than 10,000 people have so far registered on the Health Ministry's website to get the vaccine during the campaigns launched in Cairo, Giza and Alexandria on Wednesday and Thursday.
