Back to the complete issue
Thursday, 19 August 2021

Gov’t says fourth wave incoming, opens new vaccination centers

The fourth wave of the pandemic is expected to accelerate in September amid the reopening of schools, the return of holidaymakers, as well as the prospective return of employees to working from the office, Noha Assem, and advisor to the health minister, told Extra News (watch, runtime: 9:17) last night.

Her remarks came as the Health Ministry reported 123 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 112 the day before.

Infections have now been on the rise for 23 days straight, save for a one-off drop on 5 August, according to our in-house covid tracker. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 285,700 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 8 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 16,638.

We’re getting new vaccination centers as part of the bid to vaccinate teachers and other school employees before the start of the new school year, with the Health Ministry saying it is now operating 657 facilities nationwide, up from the current 580. Health Minister Hala Zayed added in a statement yesterday that there are now 145 centers offering QR-coded certificates to travelers, up from 134.

A third COVID shot in ‘Murica: The Biden administration has confirmed that it will call on its 155 mn fully-vaccinated citizens to take a third coronavirus shot, amid fears of the delta variant and the long-term effectiveness of covid shots, the Wall Street Journal reports. From 20 September, people who have received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be able to get the third shot. Studies on the long-term immunity of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are still being conducted.

Tunisia eases covid-19 restrictions: The country’s curfew will be shortened to start at midnight and cafes and restaurants will be allowed to open until 10 pm, the Tunisian president stated yesterday. The news comes as case rates fall and the government’s vaccination campaign gathers pace.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.