The Health Ministry reported 1,322 new covid-19 infections yesterday, down from 1,523 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 485,093 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 36 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 24,110.

Daily cases have now been declining steadily for over three weeks, from a peak of 2.3k on 6 Feb, as the omicron wave subsides.

Another sign we’re well over the worst of omicron: Covid hospitalizations are down by almost half nationwide. Covid-19-related hospital admissions saw a 40% drop across the country in the two weeks up to 25 February, compared to the preceding two weeks, Acting Minister of Health Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar said, according to a ministry statement.

Egyvax clinical trials kick off: Forty-five volunteers will be given doses of Egypt’s second experimental covid-19 vaccine, Egyvax, in clinical trials that launched yesterday, according to a Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry statement. If all goes well, production is set to start by the end of this year, with an expected capacity of 500 mn doses annually for both domestic use and export, the statement read. The new jab is set to be manufactured by Eva Pharma, which is currently a local manufacturer of Sinovac vaccines.