Egyptians fear coronavirus count falls far short of reality
Officials deny Egypt has been holding back information on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
CAIRO — Critics are challenging Egypt's official reporting of its coronavirus cases, though authorities say their statistics are accurate and other statistics can't be trusted.
On April 3, Al-Shorouk newspaper published statistics showing there were 870 registered cases of the coronavirus in all Egyptian provinces as of the evening of April 2.
The statistics indicated that Cairo province was the most affected with 175 cases, followed by Alexandria province with 105, Damietta with 98 and Aswan with 75. No cases were recorded in the northern Sinai Peninsula, according to the statistics. Al-Shorouk did not reveal the source or origin of the figures.
The following day, Ministry of Health and Population spokesman Khaled Mujahid denied the figures being circulated online were correct and said they were being falsely attributed to the ministry. He called on all Egyptians to accept information only from official ministry sources, especially after inaccurate statistics went viral.
