Coronavirus cases in Egypt could be over 71,000: Abdel Ghaffar

By aya salah On May 21, 2020

coronavirus cases Egypt — Two citizens seen helping each other to wear face masks to protect against contracting a coronavirus infection (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The true number of coronavirus infections in Egypt could be over 71,000, however the formal number of confirmed cases in the country is predicted to reach 20,000 next week, according Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel Ghaffar.

As of Wednesday, Egypt recorded 14,229 confirmed coronavirus infections, including 680 deaths.

But the minister said the country was likely to have many more coronavirus cases than what has been officially confirmed, estimating the country could have 71,145 or more infections.

“Assuming [the number of infections] is five times the figure we are counting every day … this means we do not have [around] 14,000 cases today, we have 71,145 or more,” the minister said in a televised conference attended by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi at the opening ceremony of a national housing project in Alexandria attended by El-Sisi and other top government officials.

Under that scenario, the figure would reach 100,000 by the end of May, he said.

Coronavirus cases khaled abdel ghaffar