The Health Ministry reported 879 new covid-19 infections yesterday, up from 848 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 377,960 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 43 new deaths, bringing the country’s total death toll to 21,500.

First at-home pill approved for use in the US: The FDA authorized Pfizer’s at-home pill, Paxlovid, for covid-19 patients aged 12+ who are vulnerable to becoming severely ill, the New York Times reports. The pill was recently proven to be effective against the Omicron variant.

There may be good news on the omicron front out of South Africa where a new study has suggested that the variant is 80% less likely to result in hospitalization compared to other strains, reported Bloomberg and Reuters. The research was inconclusive on whether the lower hospitalization rate is because of higher population immunity or whether the strain is milder.

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