Egypt's Environment Ministry closes central protectorates on Sham el Nessim

CAIRO - 2 May 2020: Environment Minister Yassmin Fouad decided on Sunday to close all central protectorates during Sham el Nessim celebrations as part of the state’s strategy to curb the coronavirus spread as well as maintain the safety of its citizens.

In a statement, the minister said Cairo's Wadi Degla and Fayyoum protectorates will be closed during the spring celebrations.

She underlined the importance of applying all coronavirus precautions and taking firm procedures against any violator as the country has witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases.

The move comes after governors of Cairo, Alexandria, Qalyoubia, Damietta and Sohag all issued directives to close public parks and beaches during Sham el Nessim to mitigate the spread of the pandemic.

Egypt is currently suffering from a third coronavirus wave and new daily cases rose above 1,000, in the past three days, for the first time since 9 January. 

1,032 new coronavirus cases were detected in Egypt on Saturday, upping the total number of confirmed cases since the outbreak in the country began to 228,584. 63 patients have died from the virus over the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 13,402

As many as 769 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 171,542 so far.