CAIRO, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Egypt reported on Wednesday 1,503 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total cases registered in the country since mid-February to 69,814, the Health Ministry said.
Meanwhile, 81 more patients died from the coronavirus, raising the death toll to 3,034, while 421 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals, increasing the total recoveries to 18,881, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.
Megahed emphasized Egypt's cooperation with the World Health Organization regarding the pandemic.
Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8.
Earlier in the day, Egypt received two flights with about 300 tourists from Ukraine as the country started resuming international flights after more than three months of suspension over COVID-19 concerns.
"Several other flights carrying tourists from Ukraine, Switzerland and Belarus will arrive in the coming few days," said the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said in a statement.
Egypt has recently lifted a partial nighttime curfew imposed in the country over the past three months, amid a coexistence plan to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.
The country reopened restaurants, cafes, theaters and cinemas with 25 percent of their capacity, while public beaches and parks remain closed.
Mosques and churches have also reopened for daily prayers but weekly mass prayers remain suspended. Museums and archeological sites were reopened to tourists as well.
The most populous Arab country previously started gradual reopening of services and offices, and allowed operation of over 260 hotels for local tourists with 50-percent capacity after they were given official hygiene safety certificates.
Egypt and China have been cooperating closely in fighting the pandemic through exchanging medical aid and expertise.
In early February, Egypt provided aid to China to help with its fight against COVID-19 and China later returned favor by sending three batches of medical aid to the North African country, the latest of which was in mid-May.
Since mid-April, Chinese doctors and medical experts have held three video conferences with Egyptian counterparts to share their experience in the prevention and treatment of the novel coronavirus. Enditem
