Egypt's Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli has announced on Tuesday that the country will impose a nationwide 11-hour curfew from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am starting Wednesday for two weeks. The drastic measure comes as part of the country’s efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
In a press conference, the PM revealed a number of deterrent measures to be applied over the next two weeks including:
-The suspension of mass public, private transport from 7:00 pm to 6:00 am
-The closure of all shops and malls from 5:00 pm to 6:00 am, and they will be completely closed on the weekend.
-The closure of all restaurants, cafes, clubs, youth centers, and gyms.
-Most of government offices and public services including, traffic, real estate registry, civil registry, passports offices, except health ones will shut their doors to the public.
-Extending the suspension of schools and universities due to end later this month for another two weeks.
-The cabinet’s decision to reduce the number of employees at the office or various places of work in both the public and private sectors will be prolonged except for hospitals, and medical centers' workers.
-Delivery services, bakeries, grocery stores, and pharmacies, as well as supermarkets, are excluded from the closure.
Emergency Law sanctions will be applied against those who will violate the curfew measures. The sanctions vary from an EGP 4000 fine to jail terms.
Moreover, the country has decided to urgently allocate one billion pounds to the Ministry of Health (MoH), to provide the basic needs of preventive medical supplies.
It is worth mentioning that, Egypt has so far registered 366 coronavirus cases, including 19 deaths.
Egypt’s health ministry has stepped up precautionary measures in the affected governorates and intensified campaigns to spread awareness about infectious diseases.
It also raises its preparedness at all the country’s ports and airports to monitor the virus developments, receiving inquires from citizens about the virus through its hotline 105 or 15335.
Egypt President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has allocated L.E. 100 billion to fund the anti-Coronavirus strategy and its related precautionary measures.
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