DUBAI: Egypt led Africa for COVID-19 resiliency, news site Ahram Online has reported, adding that it was third in the Middle East.
The ranking measured the ability of countries to combat the coronavirus pandemic and determined the best countries to live in during the crisis based on a set of sub-indicators including monthly cases, monthly fatality rate, total deaths per million, positive test rates, access to COVID-19 vaccines, lockdown severity, community mobility and 2020 GDP growth forecast.
Ahram Online, which quoted a Bloomberg report, added that Egypt’s ranking indicated the country recorded an average of seven cases per 100,000 citizens monthly and a total of 64 deaths per one million citizens since the outbreak hit the country.
Egyptian officials have been coordinating with Gavi, the global vaccine alliance, to procure 20 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine with the initial supplies of jabs expected by May 2021.
The doses would cover up to 20 percent of the country’s needs particularly for frontline health workers and those most vulnerable to the disease.
Meanwhile, national carrier EgyptAir has said it is ready to transport the anticipated coronavirus vaccine to Egypt and other destinations using two of its Boeing 777 aircraft.
Most of the vaccines need to be kept at very low temperatures particularly the one made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, which must be kept at a temperature of about -70°C.
The transportation process will be carried out using refrigerated containers to keep the doses at the required temperatures before they are discharged from the planes, the airline said.
