Are we over wave #3? The dreaded third wave “has ended” here at home, with daily infection rates falling from their recent peak during Eid El Fitr, deputy health minister for intensive care affairs Sherif Wadea said in a phone-in to Al Hadath Al Youm (watch, runtime: 4:24). Bed occupancy rates and hospital-acquired infections decreased to 29% from the past week, while ICU occupancy dropped by as much as 56%, courtesy precautionary measures imposed by cabinet and a boost in the local vaccination campaign, she said.

Cases continued to decline yesterday, falling to 691, according to new figures from the Health Ministry. This is down 42% from the recent peak during the Eid break. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 273,182 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 41 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 15,623.

The US seems to have beaten the pandemic: Just 2% of covid-19 tests in the US are positive — the lowest since the pandemic broke out in the states in March 2020, compared with more than 13% during the winter, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing figures from Johns Hopkins University. The percentage of tests coming back positive have been falling dramatically in the US since April, along with declining hospitalization and death counts.