egypt
Egyptian actor Fayeq Azab has died due to COVID-19. Image Credit: Supplied

Cairo: Veteran Egyptian actor Fayeq Azab Thursday died from COVID-19 at a Cairo hospital, his family said. He was 77.

Azab is the second Egyptian performer to die due to the highly infectious disease. In July, celebrated actress Rajaa Al Jedawi died weeks after she was hospitalised for contracting the novel coronavirus.

Born in 1943 in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, Azab graduated from the Cairo University’s school of arts.

Second wave

He established himself as an actor mainly in supporting roles he has played in many TV serials and films. He will be buried later Thursday.

His death comes amid increasing warnings in Egypt against a second wave of COVID-19. The government has vowed to penalise people who fail to wear the mandatory protective face masks in public.

On Wednesday, Egyptian health authorities confirmed 329 new cases of the virus, the country’s highest daily tally in months.

Egypt, the country of over 100 million people, so far have registered a total of 111,613 virus cases and 6,495 related fatalities