Daily covid cases are continuing to fall, dropping to 1,119 yesterday from 1,277 the day before, according to Health Ministry figures. Cases rose to a recent peak of 1,418 on 31 December. The government has previously said it expects this second wave to start peaking some time in late December. The ministry also reported 55 new deaths yesterday, bringing the country’s total death toll to 7,918. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 144,583 confirmed cases of covid-19.

Nurseries may keep their doors open at their 50% capacity limit until further notice, but could close down if the cases spike, the Social Solidarity Ministry said in a statement.

The Tahya Misr Fund will set aside at least EGP 2 bn to subsidize vaccination, the fund’s spokesperson, Mohamed Mokhtar, told Ala Mas’ouleety’s Ahmed Moussa last night (watch, runtime: 14:46). The fund was assigned by the president to fully cover the cost of vaccines for healthcare workers, low-income senior citizens, and other vulnerable people.

The government has tapped 34 medical facilities across the country where the Sinopharm vaccine will be made available by the end of the month, El Watan reports. All 27 governorates will have at least one facility with access to jabs. Cairo and Giza will each have three locations equipped with the jab once the vaccination program is rolled out.

DONATIONS- The private sector is chipping in: Qalaa Holdings will donate EGP 30 mn to support the fund’s bid to pay for vaccines, Chairman Ahmed Heikal told Moussa (watch, runtime: 2:02). Kenwood kitchen appliances importer Union Trade (runtime: 3:04) will also donate EGP 5 mn, real estate player Pyramids Development (runtime: 4:00) EGP 2 mn, and businessman Ahmed Abou Hashima (runtime: 3:24) EGP 2 mn.

Some 21k people were fined EGP 50 for not wearing masks in indoor public spaces or public transport on Sunday alone — the first day of the newly introduced penalty, according to an Interior Ministry statement. Of those, 19k paid the fines on the spot, while the remaining 2k who were unwilling or unable to pay the fines and now face charges.

The UAE is showing the world what a good mass vaccination campaign looks like: The country has already vaccinated 8% of its population and aims to reach 50% by the end of the first quarter, Bloomberg reports. The GCC state has already administgered 826k shots to its 10 mn-strong population.