The Health Ministry reported 2,131 new covid-19 infections yesterday, down from 2,145 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 454,952 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 57 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 23,349.

The vaccine tally: 29,083,027 people are now fully vaccinated against the virus, while some 9.5 mn people have received only their first shots and 749,799 people have received booster shots.

Egypt has some 70 mn covid-19 jabs ready and waiting to be administered, head of the government’s covid-19 committee Hossam Hosny told Ala Mas’ouleety (watch, runtime: 15:29).

Anti-vax and anti-mask protests have erupted across major cities over the past week, as resentment grows against ongoing covid-19 restrictions even as the pandemic appears to be subsiding. Canadian police have finally cleared a six-day blockade that halted one of the country’s busiest trade links with the United States, Reuters reports, after truck drivers staged a “freedom convoy” against a vaccine-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers. The protests have inspired similar demonstrations in the Australian capital of Canberra, while France saw a protest convoy against covid restrictions breach warnings to stay away from central Paris, with the police firing tear gas on demonstrators.

A ray of light? Some anti-vaxxers are being swayed by the protein-based Novavax jab. Many unvaccinated people in Germany have signed up to take the Novavax covid-19 vaccine, which uses a long-established protein-based technology, signaling that some who have doubts about novel mRNA vaccines could be persuaded to take other jabs, Reuters reports.