{"id":554053,"date":"2021-12-19T04:21:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T04:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/12\/19\/omicron-lands-in-egypt\/"},"modified":"2021-12-19T04:21:38","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T04:21:38","slug":"omicron-lands-in-egypt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2021\/12\/19\/omicron-lands-in-egypt\/","title":{"rendered":"Omicron lands in Egypt"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Three Omicron cases were detected over the weekend<\/strong>, marking the variant\u2019s first appearance in the country, according to the Health Ministry<\/a>. The three cases were detected in people arriving from countries where the variant is already circulating, the statement reads. Two of the three cases are asymptomatic, while the third patient has shown only mild symptoms. All three are currently in isolation under medical supervision, while no further cases have been discovered among people they had come into contact with, the ministry said.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be surprised:<\/strong> Authorities (and basic science) previously said<\/a> that it was only a matter of time until the variant made an appearance in Egypt. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus last week said<\/a> Omicron had been reported in 77 countries and had probably already spread undetected to most other nations. The Health Ministry is encouraging citizens to continue to adhere to precautionary measures including mask-wearing and social distancing, and to get vaccinated if they haven\u2019t already done so.<\/p>\n

Good thing booster shots are rolling out:<\/strong> The Health Ministry began sending out text messages as of Friday to those eligible for booster shots, notifying them that they\u2019re qualified, without requiring them to register, ministry spokesperson Hossam Abdel Ghaffar told Kelma Akhira\u2019s Lamees El Hadidi (watch, runtime: 2:57<\/a>). Eligible people \u2014 currently only medical staff and senior citizens with chronic medical conditions who completed their regular vaccine dose at least six months ago \u2014 will be contacted from the ministry\u2019s current directory of people who signed up for the vaccine. Masaa DMC\u2019s Injy Al Qadi (watch, runtime: 8:17<\/a>) and Al Hayah Al Youm\u2019s Lobna Assal also had similar coverage (watch, runtime: 24:47<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Everybody above the age of 70 should immediately receive a booster shot to help guard<\/strong> against Omicron<\/strong>, regardless of how long it\u2019s been since they got their first round of jabs or what their health condition is, Ashraf El Fiky, a medical officer at Washington-based clinical research organization Emmes, told Lamees (watch, runtime: 11:27<\/a>).<\/p>\n

A total of 53 mn jabs have been administered in Egypt to date<\/strong>, according to Abdel Ghaffar. Around 30% of those who have been vaccinated have received the full dosage of their jabs, the spokesperson told Lamees. University students are also around 95% vaccinated, he said (watch, runtime: 7:36<\/a>).<\/p>\n

We received 200k AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Hungary on Friday<\/strong>, pushing the total number of AstraZeneca jabs we\u2019ve received from Hungary to 450k, the foreign ministry said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Health Ministry <\/strong>reported<\/a><\/strong> 902 <\/strong>new<\/strong> covid-19 infections yesterday<\/strong>, down from 910 the day before. Egypt has now disclosed a total of 374,411 confirmed cases of covid-19. The ministry also reported 38 new deaths, bringing the country\u2019s total death toll to 21,315.<\/p>\n

Egypt wasn\u2019t the only country to report its first cases of Omicron over the weekend:<\/strong> Qatar\u2019s Health Ministry picked up its first four cases<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Already had covid, or even two jabs? It might not help protect you from Omicron: <\/strong>Risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than with the Delta variant, according to a new report<\/a> from Imperial College London\u2019s covid response team.<\/p>\n

The weekend brought record covid case numbers for a number of countries\/states:<\/strong><\/p>\n