Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said at a Wednesday cabinet meeting that reports show an upward trend in the number of confirmed novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases across Egypt.
The Prime Minister urged citizens to continue to adhere to all precautionary measures, alongside the importance of wearing masks when outside their homes. He also said that masks have been proven to decrease the chances of transferring the virus from person to person. He warned that individuals who do not wear masks in public areas will be penalised with fines.
Madbouly noted that as the winter season is approaching, it is expected that the number of infections will increase accordingly.
Whilst highlighting the decline in people’s commitment to wearing face masks, the Prime Minister said that the chances of contracting the virus increases in enclosed places, particularly if they are poorly ventilated.
He called upon citizens to take care and apply all efforts to protect themselves and to apply social distancing. He also noted that the government has exerted much effort to push the economy forward, which has resulted in much praise from international financial institutions.
The cabinet instructions regarding precautionary measures against the coronavirus take place as Egypt’s schools started the new 2020/21 academic year on 17 October. Schools re-opened amid tight precautionary measures against the pandemic.
In March this year, the Egyptian government decided to shut down schools and universities as part of its measures to curb the outbreak. All final exams were cancelled or postponed, except for the high school leaving (Thanaweyya Amma) exams.
The number of COVID-19 cases has seen a recent uptick in some Arab countries, including Morocco and Tunisia, sparking fears of a second wave in the region. This follows a relative decline during the past few weeks.
