COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt | |
---|---|
Disease | COVID-19 |
Virus strain | SARS-CoV-2 |
Location | Egypt |
First outbreak | Wuhan, Hubei, China |
Index case | Cairo |
Arrival date | 14 February 2020 (4 years, 6 months and 2 weeks) |
Confirmed cases | 516,023 [1] |
Recovered | 491,193 [2] [3] |
Deaths | 24,830 [1] |
Fatality rate | 4.81% |
Territories | Cases in 27 Governorates |
Vaccinations |
The COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID-19 ) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached Egypt on 14 February 2020.
On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. [4] [5]
The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, [6] [7] but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. [6] [8] Model-based simulations for Egypt indicate that the 95% confidence interval for the time-varying reproduction number R t has fluctuated around 1.0 since August 2020. [9]
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
On 6 March 2020, the Egyptian Health Ministry and WHO confirmed 12 new cases of SARS-CoV-2. [74] The infected persons were among the Egyptian staff aboard a Nile River cruise ship, traveling from Aswan to Luxor. This ship is variously known as MS River Anuket [75] or Asara. [76] All those who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 did not show any symptoms of the disease. According to tests, the virus spread from a Taiwanese-American female tourist on the ship. [77]
On 7 March, health authorities announced that 45 people on board had tested positive and that the ship had been placed in quarantine at a dock in Luxor. [75] On 9 March, the first international case from the cruise ship came after an American went home and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. [78]
In addition to the confirmed cases within Egypt, there have been a number of documented cases that were detected in other countries and traced to travel from Egypt. The estimate of such cases was at least 97 cases at the end of February 2020, according to public health data and news reports. [79]
Country | Number of cases |
---|---|
United States | 52 [80] |
France | 11 [81] |
Canada | 11 [82] [83] |
Hong Kong | 9 [84] |
Tunisia | 2 [14] |
Japan | 2 [85] |
Saudi Arabia | 1 [86] |
Taiwan | 1 [87] |
Total | 89 |
On 22 July 2020, a report from Human Rights Watch alleged that COVID-19 had infected multiple people inside several Egyptian prisons. Human Rights Watch said that several detainees died, further stating that the detainees were not tested or had not received adequate medical treatment after experiencing suspected virus symptoms. [88]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare workers in Egypt denounced the government's handling of the crisis. The country turned down the globally-accepted PCR test, as it opted to use antibody tests. The World Health Organization stated that the antibody tests do not test or detect the virus, but detects the tested person's immune response to the virus. The rapid use of antibody tests began in Egypt from April 2020, where nearly 200,000 tests were conducted by the end of that month. The Egyptian health ministry demanded frontline healthcare workers to get tested through the process once at the end of each shift, while PCR was allowed only after they test positive. It was observed that the misuse of antibody tests helped in spread of the virus. [89]
In June 2021, Amnesty International highlighted what it called the Egyptian government's failure to handle the COVID-19 vaccine rollout strategically. Amnesty International says that marginalized people and those at risk were not given prioritization for vaccination. According to Amnesty, the most affected individuals were the ones living in informal urban settlements or remote rural areas, as well as prisoners, refugees and migrants. While the vaccine rollout's announcement came in January, Amnesty stated that people who had registered for a vaccine in March did not get the vaccine even by the end of July. In April, Mada Masr reported that Egyptian parliamentarians and their families were given preferential treatment to choose between the two vaccines and received their jabs sooner than others, despite not being officially listed on any priority group. [90]
The minister of aviation closed the airports and suspended all air travel, effective 19 March. [91] The decision to suspend flights in Egypt came into effect from 19 March until 31 March. [29]
As of March 25, the ministry of health announced that 25,000 PCR tests have been done. [92] As of April 17, 55,000 PCR tests have been done [93] As of April 23, 90,000 PCR tests have been done. [94] As of May 9, 105,000 PCR tests have been done. [95]
Egypt now has more than 40 PCR testing equipment dispersed all over the country. [96]
Foreign media outlets have reported that certain individuals have been arrested for allegedly spreading false information about the coronavirus pandemic. [97] [98]
Based partly on multiple confirmed COVID-19 cases in other countries being linked to travel in Egypt, infectious disease specialists from the University of Toronto, who studied the disparity between official and presumed infection rates, estimated the number of COVID-19 cases in Egypt to be between 6,270 and 45,070 presumed cases (95% confidence interval) in March 2020, [99] a study which was reported on by various foreign media outlets, including British newspaper The Guardian and U.S. newspaper The New York Times . [79] [100] This projected figure was far higher than the official count of 126 at the time. The Egyptian Ministry of Health dismissed this estimate as "completely false", and the ministry also said that it reports confirmed cases in the country with "full transparency". [100] A reporter for The Guardian had her accreditation revoked by the State Information Service over the perceived inaccurate information, while a reporter for The New York Times was warned by the SIS for similar reasons. [100]
However, a research paper was later published by Egyptian scientists, including Health Minister Hala Zaid, suggesting that some underestimation may have in fact taken place, and that the actual number of COVID-19 cases in Egypt as of 31 March 2020 could have been between 710 and 5,241 cases, potentially up to seven times higher than the recorded official number at the time. [101] This was followed on 21 May 2020 by Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, the Minister of Higher Education, suggesting that the true number of COVID-19 cases at the time might have been at least 71,145. [102]
The COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first confirmed case in Nigeria was announced on 27 February 2020, when an Italian national in Lagos tested positive for the virus. On 9 March 2020, a second case of the virus was reported in Ewekoro, Ogun State, a Nigerian citizen who came into contact with the Italian national.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Maldives was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Maldives on 7 March 2020 from a 69-year-old Italian tourist who had returned to Italy after spending holidays in Kuredu Resort & Spa. The Health Protection Agency of Maldives confirmed two cases in Maldives, both employees of the resort. Following this, the hotel was locked down with several tourists stranded on the island. As of 11 March, the resorts of Kuredu, Vilamendhoo, Batalaa, and Kuramathi island were also placed under temporary quarantine. Schools were closed as a precaution.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Senegal was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Senegal on March 2, 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Kenya on 12 March 2020, with the initial cases reported in the capital city Nairobi and in the coastal area Mombasa.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Ethiopia on 13 March 2020. The national government, led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, declared a five-month state of emergency in April 2020 but has allowed economic activities to continue during the public health crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Sudan was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Sudan in March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Guinea in March 2020.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have spread to Libya on 24 March 2020, when the first case was officially confirmed in Tripoli.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Malawi on 2 April 2020. It has spread to all districts of Malawi.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Somalia on 16 March 2020 when the first case was confirmed in Mogadishu. The Somali Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire announced that the government has set aside five million dollars to deal with the disease. The Somali Medical Association is concerned that the death toll in the country will be huge and that Somalia will not be able to recover from the economic effects due to poor working relations between central government and federal states which leads to lack of control by central government, as well and the lack of healthcare infrastructure. It has also been speculated that President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed may use the pandemic as an excuse to postpone elections. There have also been concerns over freedom of the press following arrests and intimidation of journalists who have been covering the pandemic in Somalia.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Madagascar is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. On 20 March 2020, the first case in Madagascar was confirmed in Antananarivo.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Benin was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Benin in March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Eswatini was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Eswatini in March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Mauritania was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Mauritania in March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Mozambique is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Mozambique in March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Rwanda was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Rwanda in March 2020. Rwanda's response to the pandemic has received international praise for its effectiveness. Despite limited resources, the country's well organised healthcare system, rapid deployment of testing procedures and high public trust in medical authorities have led to a successful public health response. As of 15 December 2021, there were 100,763 total confirmed cases, 1,344 confirmed deaths, 7 million first vaccine shots, and 1 critical case.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Sierra Leone on 31 March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in South Sudan is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached South Sudan on 5 April 2020. The first four confirmed cases were all UN workers.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Uganda is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Uganda in March 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 .The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Zimbabwe in March 2020. Some of Zimbabwe's provinces, especially Manicaland, Masvingo and Mashonaland East, also struggled with a malaria outbreak at the same time. Though malaria is treatable, the healthcare system faces drug shortages and increased strain with the spread of COVID-19.