CAIRO: Egypt said on Wednesday it will receive another 4.9 million doses of different types of coronavirus vaccines in May.

The earliest of these will be a shipment of 1.7 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine which is due to arrive next week as part of the global COVAX agreement, the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement.

COVAX was established by the Geneva-based GAVI vaccine alliance and the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the equitable distribution of vaccines.

Egypt will receive an additional shipment of 1.7 million AstraZeneca vaccines by the end of May, 1 million doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine to arrive in two shipments, and 500,000 doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, the cabinet said.

The number of new coronavirus cases has been steadily rising in Egypt in recent weeks and officials have warned of infections spreading further as families meet during the holy month of Ramadan, which ends next week.

Egypt's health ministry reported 1,090 new cases and 60 more deaths as of Tuesday.