Egypt's Gov. demands media to abide by official statements

CAIRO – 8 April 2020: Egypt’s Cabinet urged media outlets to abide by the official statements regarding the coronavirus spread, especially the daily report issued by the Ministry of Health on the new recorded cases and number of deaths.

The Cabinet also added that citizens should not follow or believe any rumors or unofficial statements circulating on social media, and demanded media outlets not to publish the names of the patients or any details about them.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health issues a daily report on the new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Egypt. On Tuesday, 128 news cases and nine deaths were reported. The total number of infections rose to 1450.

The World Health Organization Representative in Egypt, John Jabbour, said that Egypt implements strong responsive measures to fight the coronavirus epidemic.

In statements to "Al-Hikaya" talk show on MBC Masr Channel, Jabbour said that Egypt could have different scenarios evolving from the current situation. “I affirm that if Egyptians do not follow the government's instructions, the situation will take a turn that does not come in the favor of anyone,” Jabbour added.

He further noted that the international situation is already dangerous, and cannot be underestimated; however, the most important thing is to keep the “physical distance” between each other.

When asked about the official figures announced by the Egyptian government regarding the COVID-19 cases, Jabbour said that in time of an epidemic, the number of infected cases might be underestimated and that this comes as a result of the slight symptoms that may accompany the infection.

“Nearly 85 percent of Egyptians recorded mild symptoms and they did not need to be hospitalized at all; accordingly, some cases could not be detected or discovered,” Jabbour explained.