Egypt is now making coronavirus testing available in all general hospitals

Egypt announced on Wednesday an expansion of testing for the new coronavirus, saying that all the country’s 320 general hospitals would offer testing to people showing symptoms of the illness.

People with minor symptoms will be sent home as they await test results, while those showing serious symptoms will be kept in hospital, according to the county’s health ministry statement.

Since May 14, some patients with minor symptoms are being asked to self-isolate at home rather than going to quarantine hospitals.

To date, the total number of coronavirus cases in Egypt is 14,229, including 680 fatalities and 3,994 recoveries.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged authorities in Egypt to expand the number of tests, without saying what level of testing it sees as appropriate.

Earlier this month, a presidential adviser said that 105,000 PCR tests had been conducted. Since then, authorities have not released regular updates on the number of tests carried out.