CAIRO - Egypt has declared a curfew from
7pm to 6am for two weeks from Wednesday to prevent the
spread of coronavirus, and those who violate the measure will be
punished under emergency laws, the prime minister said.
Flights, which were suspended at Egyptian airports on March
19 until the end of the month, will remain grounded for an
additional two weeks until April 15.
A closure of schools and universities will also be extended
to mid-April, while cafes, sports clubs and gyms will be shut
for the next two weeks and restaurants will be restricted to
deliveries.
Shops other than food stores and pharmacies will be required
to close from 5 p.m., two hours earlier than previously, as well
as at weekends.
Those who do not respect the new rules face fines of up to
4,000 Egyptian pounds ($255) or prison, Prime Minister Mostafa
Madbouly told a televised press briefing.
"I call on all Egyptians to fully comply with these
measures," President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Twitter. "And
I affirm that all elements of the Egyptian state will confront
any attempts to breach them with the utmost firmness and
resolution."
The number of coronavirus cases confirmed by the health
ministry rose by 36 on Tuesday to 402. There was one new death,
bringing the total to 20.
Senior officials have sought to reassure the public that
they are able to contain coronavirus and that information on
cases is being released quickly and transparently.
"Compared to surrounding countries, we are still at the
stage of being able to contain the spread of the epidemic,"
Madbouly said.
Ahead of the briefing, state TV aired a video that
highlighted strict measures taken in China to combat
coronavirus, with a caption "Egypt can defeat coronavirus like
China."
Later the presidency released pictures of Sisi inspecting
trucks adapted by the army to carry large disinfectant sprayers
and hoses.
Authorities face a challenge tackling the virus in a country
of 100 million where many live in fertile areas around the Nile
and public health services can be severely stretched.
In some densely populated residential districts in Cairo,
daily street life has appeared largely unaffected until now,
though with lighter traffic.
On social media, many criticised the government for not
halting services in mosques and churches before Saturday, when
that decision was announced.
Listing the latest measures, Madbouly said almost all
government offices would now close their doors to the public. He
urged citizens to limit movement between towns and cities, and
said a measure to restrict the number of government employees
going to work would be prolonged until mid-April.
Separately, the government said it was allocating one
billion Egyptian pounds ($63.69 million) to the health ministry
to help it provide supplies.
Like other countries, Egypt has taken steps to curtail the
impact of coronavirus on the economy, including a surprise 3%
interest rate cut and an injection of 20 billion Egyptian pounds
to support the stock market.
Most early cases in Egypt were linked to a cruise ship on
the Nile from which both foreign passengers and local crew
tested positive, dealing an early blow to the country's crucial
tourism sector.