Egyptian public servants to be given status of the law enforcement officers

CAIRO – 28 December 2020: Egyptian Minister of Justice Omar Marwan will issue a decision to per which a number of public servants will be given the status of law enforcement officers to collect fines from those who are not obligated to wearing masks amid the increasing infection rate of coronavirus.

 

As per Article 23 of the Egyptian Code, it is permissible, by a decision from the Minister of Justice, to authorize some employees to obtain the status of law enforcement officers in relation to crimes that are linked to their job duties.

 

The law enforcement officers are usually tasked with investigating crimes, collecting evidence that is necessary for investigation and prosecution.

 

The Health Ministry announced Sunday that Egypt registered 1,226 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of confirmed cases thus far to 132,541.

 

In a statement, the Spokesman for the Health Ministry said that the death toll in the country was raised to 7,405 after 53 patients died from the virus over the past 24 hours. 

 

As many as 553 patients were discharged from isolation hospitals after receiving necessary medical care, taking the number of recovered cases to 110,015 so far, the spokesman said.

 

The Egyptian Cabinet issued a statement canceling the Christmas and New Year celebrations amid the current pandemic, particularly after the coronavirus strain has mutated. The decision will come into force on Wednesday.

 

In a phone call with Al-Arabiya net, Minister of Health Hala Zayed said on Monday that the announced number of the cases does not reflect the reality.