2 buildings in Egypt’s Port Said isolated over coronavirus

CAIRO – 9 April 2020: Authorities in a district in the northeastern Egyptian city of Port Said has home quarantined the residents of two residential buildings, after two coronavirus (COVID-19) cases were found among them.

In press remarks, Ahmed Qassem, head of Al-Dawahi district, said the entrances of the two buildings were closed by security forces and the residents were ordered to stay at home for 14 days, in order to avoid physical contact with others.

The basic needs of the residents, including food and drink, will be provided to the quarantined residents, Qassem said, adding that coordination took place with their managers at work in order to ensure they are given paid leave.

He also noted that the authorities coordinated with the relevant preventive medicine directorate to screen the residents for coronavirus. The virus control body in the city will also send teams to sterilize the two buildings, he said.

Separately, Adel al-Ghadban, the governor of Port Said, said the Al-Mabarra Hospital, which has been allocated to receive patients suspected of having coronavirus in the city, has been equipped with the necessary medical equipment and devices to enable it to fully perform its medical duties.

The Egyptian Ministry of Health on Wednesday said another 110 people tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the northeastern African country to 1,560, including 305 people who recovered.

The death toll due to infection with the virus also rose to 103, after the ministry confirmed nine new deaths during the past 24 hours.

On the other side, 29 people infected with the COVID-19 left quarantine as they recovered. This raises the total of the recovered cases to 305, among 439 people whose results turned to negative.

On Wednesday, the prime minister gave a speech to announce measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, including extending curfew and the flight ban in the northeastern African country until April 23rd.

Among the decisions intensifying sterilization procedures for all state facilities and deducting salaries of the prime minister and state ministers by 20 percent for three months to support precarious employment.

“Our projections for this week were 120-150 cases daily. There will be increases in the number of infections in the coming two or three weeks…but the more important thing is that the rise is slight and gradual,” Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli noted.