Last night’s talk show circuit saw Aswan governor Ismail Kamal set the record straight on a recent spate of illnesses in Aswan Governorate’s Abu Rish and Daraw areas, which led some to speculate on what could be the cause.

The cases of illness were simply acute gastroenteritis caused by food and drinks, Kamal told Ahmed Moussa on his program Ala Mas’ouleety, noting that the health outbreak in Aswan began directly after the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday (watch, runtime: 16:51). The outbreak has seen around 200 cases of illness, Kamal said, 150 of which are currently undergoing treatment.

Concerns about this being a contagious disease are unfounded: Kamal added that a survey was conducted in 350 affected and unaffected homes to assess the number of cases, with the findings showing that each household affected had no more than one or two cases — helping to refute claims that the spate of illnesses is the result of a contagious disease or a cholera outbreak.

An official statement is on its way: Kamal noted that an official statement with all the details would be released within 24-48 hours at most, after the analysis of samples taken from patients and from Aswan’s water were complete (watch, runtime: 2:18).

The nation’s talking heads stressed that the people have a right to know: Commenting on the situation on his show El Hekaya, Amr Adib addressed the government, saying, “The truth of the matter must be announced within 48 hours, whether it is a disease that came from somewhere, or if there is nothing at all.” Adib stressed the importance of maintaining calm to protect citizens (watch, runtime: 10:14).

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