Egyptian Interior Ministry sterilizes prisons to avoid COVID-19

CAIRO – 2 April 2020: The Ministry of Interior on Thursday said preventive medicine teams have continued to sterilize all prison facilities, as part of the precautionary measures taken by the ministry over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

This comes as Egypt has so far recorded 779 coronavirus cases. However, no cases have been reported inside Egyptian prisons.

In a statement, the ministry said the sterilization process included external gates, interior corridors, visit spots, kitchens, libraries, literacy classrooms, hospitals and clinics and jails.



“These precautionary and preventive measures implemented by the Ministry of Interior inside prisons are part of the integrated plan followed to ensure the safety of inmates and the workers,” the ministry said.

The Interior Ministry in March has suspended prison visits nationwide. The move is part of the state's precautionary measures to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, a security official said.

The decision comes within the framework of the Cabinet's directives to halt all activities and events with large gatherings over coronavirus fears, the official noted.

The Egyptian Health Ministry on Wednesday said the total number of coronavirus cases in the African country has increased to 779, after 69 new cases were confirmed, all of them Egyptians.



The death toll also increased to 52 by Wednesday, after 6 new deaths were reported, including a Jordanian citizen and five Egyptians, the Ministry said in a statement.

Twenty-two patients recovered and were released from the quarantine hospital, one of them is a Malaysian national, to have the number of the recovered rising to 179, according to the Ministry’s spokesperson Khaled Megahed.

Megahed said the number of cases that turned negative for COVID-19 rose to 221, including the 179 recovered.