Social media platforms in Egypt have been witnessing a rising wave of anxiety for days, after the spread of posts and video clips calling for taking “strict precautionary measures” due to the epidemiological situation in the country, while many found themselves facing a scene suggesting the return of the Corona pandemic atmosphere.
In light of this climate of fear, especially among parents, allegations and misleading information have escalated at a remarkable pace, amid warnings of the outbreak of a “new variant of Corona,” while others promoted rumors about disrupting studies, which reinforced the state of confusion and anxiety among millions of Egyptians.
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In this report, Al Jazeera investigates the most prominent allegations circulating about the epidemiological situation in Egypt, based on official sources, published statements, and the opinions of specialized doctors, to provide a realistic picture to distinguish between the truth and the exaggerations circulating in the digital space.
Publications of concern
In parallel with this growing concern, it has spread on digital platforms Publications Collected photos received thousands of shares, claiming the existence of a “new, highly dangerous mutant.”
These publications included accusations against official authorities of “obscuring and concealing the truth” regarding the epidemiological situation, which sparked widespread controversy and opened the door to a new wave of warnings and popular concern.
Prohibition of studying for patients
Users on social media also shared a video clip on the TikTok platform claiming that the last Friday sermon was devoted to talking about the “new mutant” and “the prohibition of sick children going to school” in light of the spread of diseases among school students.
@user9324303056234 Today’s Friday sermon is about the new influenza variant 2025. Friday sermon is about prohibiting children from going to school when they have the new influenza variant so that students do not go to school. Someone deliver this message to the Minister of Education #Minister_of_Education_and_Education #Vacation#Reviews
And this spread Clipswhich received hundreds of thousands of views on several platforms, accompanied by pictures of the Minister of Education and Technical Education, Mohamed Abdel Latif, along with appeals to protect students from influenza, and demands from parents to cancel… Ratings Weekly and monthly during the current academic year.
The “Al Jazeera Investigation” team found that the “unified” weekly sermon in more than 160,000 mosques inside Egypt, last Friday, was titled “Be Beautiful and You will See Existence Beautiful,” and did not address Text it The publication on the Ministry of Awqaf website indicates the health conditions in the country from near or far.
Upon investigation, it was found that Al-Azhar Mosque, whose decisions are subject only to the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, devoted its last sermon to the topic of “Resisting harm to oneself and others from among the people of faith,” and it was delivered by the Secretary-General of the Council of Senior Scholars, Abbas Shoman.
And during The sermonShoman explained that anyone who suffers from colds and infectious diseases “is legally required to take the necessary precautions to not harm others,” whether by isolating places where people gather or taking the utmost precautions when forced to go out.
He also warned parents against “hiding their children’s contagious illness and sending them to schools,” considering this act as intentional harm and betrayal that violates the Sharia rule of “no harm, no harm.”
Disrupting the study
Over the past few days, publications have spreadClips A video on social media platforms claims to suspend classes in Egypt next week with the aim of sterilizing classrooms and taking precautionary measures to limit the spread of infection among students.
Upon investigation, it became clear that this information is baseless, as the Cairo Directorate of Education confirmed in Official statement Classes are regular in all schools in the governorate, with the exception of schools designated as electoral committees, which number only 324 schools.
The Director of the Directorate of Education in Giza Governorate also denied this in statements Journalist There are rumors about disrupting studies, saying: “Schools have their classrooms and bathrooms sterilized daily after students leave school, and the academic year is proceeding normally.”
A new mutant of Corona
At the same time, our team monitored the circulation of posts on the “Facebook” and “X“During the past few days, a new mutant variant of the Corona virus was allegedly detected inside Egypt, amid warnings of an outbreak of the disease and a possible return to pandemic restrictions.
On the other hand, doctors and specialists confirm that most of the currently widespread infections are due to known viruses, such as seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and other viruses that are common at this time annually.
@dr.zayed55555 New mutant? Or just a cold snap? The truth in seconds! 🥶😳 #The _ new _ mutant #Cold _ treatment #Corona_mutant #explore
Despite this, the team monitored posts circulating by doctors on social media indicating that what is currently infecting school students is a new mutant of Corona known as “Nimbus” (NB.1.8.1), confirming that it appears with symptoms similar to previous Omicron strains.
One of the doctors said Manifesto He said on Facebook, “The mutant is spreading rapidly, but it is not more dangerous than the one before it, and it only needs calm, follow-up, and proper care, which is more important than any fear or intimidation.”
Resolve the controversy
For its part, the Egyptian Ministry of Health, through official spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar, denied “the emergence of any new or unknown mutant virus inside the country,” and explained in televised statements: “We are observing an increase in respiratory virus infections, but it does not differ from the rates of last year.”
The Ministry of Health confirmed statement It is official that “the epidemiological situation of respiratory viruses in Egypt is completely stable.”
Regarding citizens’ feeling that the viruses spreading this year are more severe, Abdel Ghaffar explained that citizens’ immunity has decreased relatively as a result of not being exposed to influenza viruses for several years after the Corona pandemic, stressing that “what is said about an increase in deaths due to influenza, especially among children, are unfounded rumors.”
The truth about the “Nimbus” mutant
WHO assessments show that the variant (NB.1.8.1) is classified as “under surveillance” variants and not among variants of concern, as it indicates review Issued by the organization’s team, the mutant is recording an increasing spread in a number of countries, but it does not show any unusual characteristics in terms of the severity or seriousness of the disease.
Nor has any country recorded an increase in risk indicators such as admission to intensive care or deaths associated with the mutant, which first appeared in January 2025, while the organization indicates that approved vaccines are still effective against it.
The epidemiological situation stabilizes
Given Data Epidemiological published on the WHO dashboard, it turns out that global trends for Covid-19 do not indicate any “exceptional mutation or unprecedented wave” associated with a new variant.
Official data also show that only 65 countries continued to report Covid-19 cases during the recent period, while other countries integrated coronavirus surveillance into their seasonal respiratory disease monitoring system.
During the 28 days until November 2, 2025, the world recorded only about 122,000 cases, a decrease of nearly 40,000 cases compared to the previous period, which confirms the stability of the global epidemiological situation and the absence of a spread pattern that suggests the emergence of a more dangerous or more lethal variant.