The nation’s talking heads had Mo Salah on the brain last night, after it was revealed at the weekend that the star had tested positive for covid-19. Guests also provided an update on the disease nationwide while the tourism minister and the head of the Supreme Council for Antiquities dropped in to discuss the recent archaeological find at Saqqara.

Mo Salah catches covid-19: Kelma Akhira’s Lamees El Hadidi phoned Amr El Ganainy, the head of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), who assured viewers that Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah is currently asymptomatic. He said the Health Ministry and Liverpool are keeping tabs on the situation, and that the club has contacted him to advise on UK protocols upon his return (watch, runtime: 9:20). Al Hayah Al Youm’s Mohamed Sherdy (watch, runtime: 9:58) and Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa also spoke with El Ganainy (watch, runtime: 12:19).

Covid-19 update: Masaa DMC’s Eman El Hosary phoned Adel Khattab, professor of chest diseases at Ain Shams University, who said that the virus is spreading rapidly across the country, but with patients exhibiting milder symptoms that are only differentiated from the seasonal flu by the loss of taste and smell (watch, runtime: 13:41). El Hekaya’s Amr Adib also spoke with Hossam Hosni, the head of the Health Ministry’s covid-19 committee, who said that the numbers of new cases could easily rise the next two months should citizens neglect precautions (watch, runtime: 1:10). Sherdy also interviewed Hosni, who said that there are some 800 people working daily to receive citizens’ calls on the 105 hotline. He reiterated the need for increased vigilance during the winter season, and said that the ministry is constantly updating the protocols as necessary, with serious cases now divided into severe and critical (watch, runtime: 47:47).

New archeological discovery at Saqqara: Sherdy also phoned Mostafa Waziri, the secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, who announced the discovery of new sarcophagi in Saqqara, bringing the number of newly discovered coffins in the area to 160 since last October. He said a formal announcement would be made soon, and that the archaeological team is searching the area for the workshop where the sarcophagi were designed. The new sarcophagi will be distributed to four museums including the Grand Egyptian Museum, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Tahrir Museum, and the Administrative Capital Museum (watch, runtime: 9:21). Moussa also covered the news (watch, runtime: 5:19).

Discoveries important for Egypt’s tourism recovery -El Enany: Moussa phoned Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El Enany, who said that these archaeological discoveries attract tourists from Egypt’s key markets such as Germany, France and Italy. Egypt is currently attracting some 3k tourists per day, and this hasn’t been affected by the return of lockdowns in Europe, since tourism didn’t recover properly from the first wave, he said. El Enany said that the ministry is planning for a New Year's Eve party at the pyramids, but that this depends on the covid-19 situation in Egypt. He pointed out that the precautionary measures for hotels will not change during New Years Eve and that no one will enter Egypt without a negative PCR test (watch, runtime: 10:34).