Quarantine restrictions are lifted in Egypt, WHO estimates the cost of combating COVID-19
In Egypt, they resume the work of cafes, clubs, gyms, mosques, churches and theaters three months after closing due to an outbreak of coronavirus. However, the owners of the cafe are allowed to fill the premises for only 25% of their capacity, the sale of hookahs, popular in Egypt, is prohibited for security reasons. Mosques and churches are not yet allowed to hold mass religious services on weekends. Parishioners must wear masks inside churches and mosques. The public in Egypt criticized the authorities ’decision to loosen restrictions, as the country still records an increase in infections and deaths of people infected with COVID-19. Soon, inbound tourism will resume in Egypt. The resumption of international flights is scheduled for July 1st. The Egyptian airline Egypt Air will launch flights to 29 destinations - in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and North America. It is also planned next week to open popular tourist destinations - Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada, Marsa Alam and Mersa Matruh.
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Accelerated development and production of vaccines and drugs against coronavirus (COVID-19), as well as testing methods, will require investments of approximately $31 billion in the near future. This is reported Media referring to a statement by the World Health Organization (WHO). At an online briefing, the project’s special representative Ngozi Okondjo-Iweala emphasized that these funds will certainly pay off. “Although these numbers look large, this is not the case when we think of an alternative. If we spend billions now, then later on we will avoid spending trillions,” she said.
Media noted that the funds requested for the project should make it possible by mid-2021 to conduct 500 million tests for coronavirus in low and middle-income countries, as well as implement 245 million courses of treatment there. It is also estimated that by the end of 2021 it will be possible to distribute 2 billion doses of vaccines, with half of them in low- and middle-income countries.
In turn, the head of WHO, Tedros Adan Gebreisus, pointed out that in this initiative, that the key principle is equal access for all to treatment and vaccination. According to him, “for real effectiveness, they must be prescribed with another essentially important ingredient - solidarity.”
