‘Egypt’s real virus figures higher than official ones'

CAIRO

Egypt’s coronavirus infection numbers fall short of accuracy, the country’s higher education and scientific research minister said on Monday.

The country's real tally of infections is five times higher than data announced by the country’s Health Ministry, while the actual number of deaths is 10 times higher than official figures, local media quoted Khalid Atef Abdul Ghaffar as saying.

Egypt’s total number of coronavirus cases has surpassed 117,000, while the number of virus-linked deaths has exceeded 9,000, Ghaffar said.

Egypt’s Health Ministry reported 46 new deaths on Monday, bringing the country’s official total to 959.

The ministry said in a statement that there were a total of 24,985 confirmed cases in the country.

Since first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.

The US, Brazil, Russia and several European countries are currently the hardest hit.

The pandemic has killed nearly 374,000 people worldwide, with almost 6.23 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 2.67 million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz