Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi extended the state of emergency for three months “due to the dangerous security and health conditions" in the country, according to what was published in the official newspaper Monday night.
The text of the decision, according to sources to local media outlets, stated that “After reviewing the serious security and health conditions the country is going through, and after taking the opinion of the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic decided to declare a state of emergency throughout the country for a period of three months, starting at one o'clock on the morning of Tuesday, corresponding to 28 April 2020.”
“The armed forces and the police force shall take the necessary measures to confront the dangers and financing of terrorism, maintain security in all parts of the country, protect public and private property, and save the lives of citizens,” the decision’s text read.
"Anyone who violates the orders issued will be punished with imprisonment," it added.
The state of emergency throughout Egypt has been declared in the wake of two terrorist attacks on April 9, 2017, targeting two Coptic churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria, and resulted in the death of 45 people.
This time, the extension of the emergency coincides with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the world, where its death exceeded 200 thousand globally.
Last week, the Egyptian parliament finally agreed to amend the state of emergency law, giving the country's president the right to take the necessary measures to face health emergencies.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Health, there are more than 4,500 people infected with the virus in the country, more than 300 died and nearly 1,200 have recovered.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Egyptian government is implementing precautionary measures to try to contain the epidemic, including suspending the study and imposing a night curfew.
https://see.news/egypt-declares-state-of-emergency-for-3-months/
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