Beaches unprecedentedly empty during Egypt’s ‘Sham El-Nessim’ holiday

CAIRO – 20 April 2020: As the government has affirmed it would close all places that can have large gatherings over coronavirus especially in coastal cities during the national holiday of Sham El-Nessim, beaches on Monday appeared unprecedentedly empty.

Tougher restrictions have been imposed during this day to limit people’s mobility amid the coronavirus crisis.

Footage showed Alexandria, which receives thousands of local and foreign visitors every year, especially during the spring and summer months, while being extremely calm this day.

شواطئ الإسكندرية بلا زوار لأول مرة فى شم النسيم.. والمحافظة تحذر من التجمعات

لأول مرة شواطئ الإسكندرية بلا تجمعات أو زوار فى شم النسيم، حيث خلت الشواطئ تماما من الزوار والوافدين لمزيد من الفيديوهات زوروا مباشر : https://www.dotmsr.com...

Also, photos from different governorates showed that Egyptians have abided by the government’s restrictions.













Sham El-Nassim is a festival which dates back to Pharaonic times and used to herald the coming of the spring floods. In modern times, Sham El-Nessim, which translates to “smelling the breeze,” follows the Coptic Orthodox Easter Sunday.

Thousands of Egyptians, every year during Sham El-Nessim, used to hang out in public gardens, clubs, beaches and zoos. However, as Egypt has recorded an increasing number of coronavirus cases, the government has strongly warned citizens against large gatherings and said violators would be fined.







During a press conference last week, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said that all public transportation will be suspended during the day, including Cairo Metro and National Railways.

“We understand the Egyptians' desire to celebrate the holiday; however, these decisions come for the favor of Egyptians amid fears of coronavirus outbreak,” Madbouli said. He added that the government aims to reduce social gatherings as much as possible which will eliminate the spread of Covid 19.

A day after the government’s decision, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi warned that the state will firmly face any breach that “harm the interest of the homeland and citizens, in order to overcome this ordeal peacefully and preserve the success we have achieved so far.”

Addressing the masses of the “great” Egyptian people on a Facebook post, Sisi hailed their “steadfastness” and solidarity with the state authorities to implement the precautionary measures against the novel COVID-19.

“I renew my trust in the awareness of our great people,” Sisi said.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health announced, Sunday 112 new coronavirus cases, and 15 deaths.

According to Health Ministry Spokesman Khaled Megahed, the new cases, raises Egypt’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 3144 and deaths to 239.