Egypt Postpones 2nd-Semester Exams for Universities to May 30

The Egyptian Supreme Council for Universities, on Saturday, decided to postpone the second-semester exams for all universities nationwide until May 30th over the outbreak of coronavirus.

In a statement, the council said that online platforms will continue to provide free curricular services for the students, adding that the two-week suspension period for universities, schools and kindergartens could be extended due to the spread of the deadly virus.

The council thanked the staff at all universities for their rapid support to remote learning, as well as the staff at hospitals of universities. Meanwhile, disinfecting university facilities will continue to be carried out.

Each university will decide for itself the date of the exams of its postgraduate students, given that the period of the suspension is not included in the time frame of finishing the student’s thesis.

It is noteworthy that Egypt has suspended the holding of daily prayers and the weekly Friday prayers for two-weeks starting today, as a precautionary measure against the spread of coronavirus.

Earlier today, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, Ahmed Al-Tayyeb, decided to temporarily suspend Friday prayers as well as groupings in Al-Azhar Mosque, amid measures aimed to contain any potential spread of coronavirus.

The Egyptian Health Ministry said on Friday 29 new coronavirus cases were detected, including one foreigner and 28 Egyptians, some of them were abroad and others were in contact with the other positive cases.

“This upped the total number of confirmed cases to 285,” Khaled Megahed, the ministry’s spokesman said in a statement. 

The ministry noted that one more death was recorded, raising the total number of deaths to eight.

The ministry has stepped up precautionary measures in these governorates and intensified campaigns to spread awareness about infectious diseases.

Megahed stressed that the ministry announced all positive and suspected cases nationwide.

The ministry 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.