Egypt’s PM, ministers, experts discuss economic situation in light of coronavirus crisis

CAIRO – 18 May 2020: Egypt’s Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli has chaired a panel discussion with ministers and experts, to discuss the economic situation following the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, the Cabinet said in a statement on Monday.

This comes a day after Madbouli in a press conference announced a bundle of measures as part of the state’s plan to restore normal life amid the crisis, including the situation during next week, which includes Islamic Eid Al-Fitr holiday.

During Monday’s meeting, Madbouli said doctors and experts in the health sector think that coronavirus will exist permanently, so we have to co-exist with it, while abiding by all preventive measures.

The implications of the spread of coronavirus globally on the economic and political levels are now studied, Madbouli said, adding that the world’s current approach is that every state has to focus on meeting the interests of its citizens, while taking into consideration the opinion of the experts in all sectors, in order to overcome the crisis with the least possible harm and preserve economy.

The meeting was attended by Executive Director of the Cairo-based General Authority for Investments Mohamed Abdel Wahab, experts from the 112-year old Cairo University, the American University in Cairo and the Zewail City of Science and Technology, as well as some businessmen.

Attending the meeting, Planning Minister Hala El-Saeed said some economists expect harms to the growth of global economy may reach 7-8%, which is more serious than the harm caused by the Great Depression that hurt the US and the world during the thirties of the last century.

The Health Ministry on Sunday said 510 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Egypt recently, bringing the total number of cases to 12,229.

The ministry also reported 18 deaths due to the novel virus, bringing the total number to 630.

Also, the test results of 3,742 people turned from positive to negative, the ministry said, including 3,172 people who totally recovered. It added that 222 patients left hospitals after recovery.