CAIRO, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Egypt confirmed on Sunday 1,265 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total cases registered in the country since mid-February to 65,188, said the health ministry.

Meanwhile, 81 patients died from the novel coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 2,789, and 400 patients recovered and were discharged from hospitals, increasing the total recoveries to 17,539, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

"According to the recommendations of the World Health Organization on May 27, the disappearance of symptoms for 10 days is considered an indication of the patient's recovery from the coronavirus," he noted.

Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8.

Daily infections in Egypt have been surpassing 1,000 cases since May 28, with a record 1,774 infections on June 19.

On Saturday, Egypt 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 has reopened restaurants, cafes, theaters and cinemas with 25 percent of their capacity, while public beaches and parks remain closed. Also mosques and churches have reopened for daily prayers but weekly mass prayers will remain suspended.

Starting July 1, Egypt will resume international flights in preparation for the return of foreign tourism, after more than three months of international flight suspension over COVID-19 concerns.

The most populous Arab country has 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

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