Minister of transport calls for providing metro commuters with free face masks

CAIRO - 30 March 2020: Egyptian Minister of Transportation Kamel al-Wazir called upon the Cairo Metro Company to provide metro commuters with free face masks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The minister inspected the Ramses railway station and several stations of the Cairo metro on Sunday.

Nine days ago, Deputy Chief of the Egyptian Railway Authority Samy Abdel-Tawab called on Egyptians to avoid using public transportation unless necessary to curb the outbreak of the virus.

Since mid-March, the Egyptian government has taken gradual steps in dealing with the coronavirus spread, starting with suspending schools and universities. It also suspended the international flights to mid April.

Furthermore, a partial curfew was imposed, while all restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, casinos, night clubs, bars, shopping centers (malls), and other local shops shut down completely until April 14, 2020.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health confirmed Saturday 40 new cases of COVID-19, including one Jordanian national, to raise the number of coronavirus patients in Egypt to 576. The death toll rose to 36 people after confirming six more deaths [five Egyptians and one Italian].

The total number of the recovered people rose to 161 cases so far, while those who have been discharged from the isolation hospitals reached 121, the ministry added.