Sisi orders meeting Egyptians’ needs of basic commodities

CAIRO - 30 March 2020: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi directed the government to provide basic food commodities and increase the strategic food reserves to meet people’s demands across the country amid the strict measures taken by the government to curb the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, said Egyptian Presidential spokesperson Bassam Radi on Monday.

During a meeting with the cabinet ministers on Monday, President Sisi also affirmed the necessity of controlling the local markets to prevent monopoly practices, especially ahead of the Holy Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar during which the Muslimsfast from dusk to dawn worldwide, Radi added.

Minister of Interior Mahmoud Tawfiq updated President Sisi on the ministry’s efforts in raid campaigns against the monopliers, besides the police efforts in preserving the public order during the night-time curfew.

Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation Al-Sayed Al-Qasir assured that the exports of agricultural commodities have not been significantly affected by the virus crisis.

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 Sunday 33 new cases of COVID-19, increasing the number of infection cases to 609, including 132 patients who were discharged from the isolation hospitals after being recovered. Meanwhile, the death toll rose to 40 after recording four new deaths.