CAIRO - 23 January 2021: Egypt's Health Ministry said in a Friday statement that 680 new coronavirus cases were detected, upping the total number of confirmed cases to 161,143. Spokesman for the Health Ministry Khaled Megahed said 49 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 8,902. The number of coronavirus cases has dropped by 50 percent within a month, including those self-quarantining in homes, Health Minister Hala Zayed said. Young people under the age of 18 and pregnant women are prohibited from receiving the vaccine, the ministry said. Presidential advisor for health affairs Awad Tag El-Din said Egypt contracted with Gavi to obtain 20 million vaccine doses.

Source: Egypt Today January 23, 2021 22:30 UTC