Egypt reported on Thursday late night 1,021 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total cases registered in the country to 128,993, said the Egyptian Health Ministry.

It is the first time in over five months for Egypt's coronavirus daily cases to surpass 1,000 since the country reported 1,025 infections on July 8.

Meanwhile, 51 patients died in Egypt from the viral disease in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll in the country to 7,260, while 513 others recovered, increasing the total recoveries to 108,474, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement.

Earlier on Thursday, Egypt's Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in a press conference that the ministry had already signed contracts to purchase 30 million doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to 20 million doses of another vaccine.

The country received on Dec. 10 the first batch of the vaccine developed by China's state-owned drugmaker Sinopharm, coming from the United Arab Emirates.

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

The country has been easing relevant restrictions over the past few months as part of a coexistence plan to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities.