国际英语新闻:Egypt reports 1,455 new COVID-19 cases, 38,284 in total

CAIRO, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Egypt reported on Wednesday 1,455 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections registered in the country since mid-February to 38,284, said the Health Ministry.

COVID-19 daily infections in Egypt have been exceeding 1,000 cases since May 28, with a record 1,536 on May 31.

On Wednesday, 36 patients died from the novel coronavirus, raising the death toll to 1,342, the Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

The highest coronavirus single-day fatalities in the country were seen on June 2 when 47 patients died from the disease.

As many as 503 coronavirus patients were completely cured and discharged from hospitals on Wednesday, increasing the total recoveries to 10,289, the statement said.

Megahed highlighted Egypt's close cooperation with the World Health Organization regarding the virus, case detection and necessary medical care.

The capital Cairo and the nearby provinces of Giza and Qalioubiya have reported the highest numbers of COVID-19 infections in Egypt, while the provinces of the Red Sea, Matrouh and South Sinai see the lowest, according to the statement.

Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the respiratory disease on March 8, both foreigners.

Since March 25, the Egyptian government has been imposing a nighttime curfew as a key precautionary measure in combating the deadly virus.

The ongoing nine-hour curfew will continue until mid-June, when the government will consider easing relevant restrictions amid a coexistence plan to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.

The government has already started gradual reopening of services and offices, and allowed reopening of dozens of hotels for local tourists with 50-percent capacity after they were given official hygiene safety certificates.

"The number of reopened hotels has reached 196 after 22 hotels in six provinces have been inspected and given an official safety certificate on Wednesday," Abdel-Fattah al-Aasy, assistant minister of tourism and antiquities for monitoring tourism and hotel facilities, told Xinhua.

The official expected the number of reopened hotels in Egypt to double by the end of this month.

Egypt and China have been cooperating closely in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic through exchanging medical aid and expertise.

In early February, Egypt provided aid to China in its fight against the coronavirus outbreak and China later returned favor by sending three batches of medical aid to the North African country.

Since mid-April, Chinese doctors have held three video conferences with Egyptian counterparts to share their experience in the prevention and treatment of the novel coronavirus.