CAIRO: Egypt is on the verge of a third wave of coronavirus infections that will begin in the month of Ramadan, Noha Assem, an adviser to the Egyptian minister of health, has said.
Assem warned that case numbers are expected to spike due to public gatherings.
“The beginning of the third wave of the coronavirus depends on citizens’ commitment to precautionary measures, wearing face masks and following social distancing rules,” she said.
“Citizens have grown accustomed to the existence of coronavirus, which has resulted in them not wearing their face masks, not ventilating their homes and continuing wrong behaviors inside their homes.”
The month of Ramadan and family gatherings over iftar will likely lead to a significant increase in daily registered coronavirus cases, she said.
Mohammed Awad Taj El-Din, the Egyptian presidential adviser for health affairs, said that coronavirus symptoms as a result of the third wave do not significantly differ from the the previous two waves.
He added that infection can affect the brain and digestive system, and that the virus attacks most of the body, including the nervous system.
Taj El-Din said that people who have tested positive for the virus have complained of stomach pains and the appearance of rashes and redness in the eyes.
The known symptoms, he added, begin with a high fever, resulting in bone pain, loss of sense of smell and taste, and a runny nose.
He added that the respiratory system is the most vulnerable part of the body in the case of a coronavirus infection.
Egypt has seen a concerning rise in daily new coronavirus virus case numbers after almost 700 cases per day were recorded.
The government, meanwhile, has stressed the importance of social distancing and preventive health measures.
Egyptian Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed warned during a meeting of the Supreme Committee for the Management of the Coronavirus Crisis last week that there could be new symptoms in coronavirus patients.
These include severe inflammation of the eye membrane, the spread of rashes, impaired sense of hearing and pain and palpitations, Zayed said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi also reiterated the concerns of the government and asked people to follow precautionary measures ahead of Ramadan.
