Min. of culture sets plan to confront Covid-19 pandemic

CAIRO - 17 March 2020: Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem issued a set of decisions to confront the spread of coronavirus in various sectors of the ministry, in-line with the decisions taken by the Egyptian government.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi directed to prepare a national plan to combat the pandemic and provided LE 100 billion to face the dangers of the deadly virus, suspending schools for two weeks, and suspending aviation traffic inside Egyptian airports.

The Ministry of Culture decided to suspend all artistic and cultural events that include large groups of citizens until further notice as a precautionary measure to counter the spread of the coronavirus.

The ministry added in a press release, that the decision comes in implementation of the instructions of the Council of Ministers and as a preventive measure to counter the emerging Coronavirus pandemic.

In addition, Abdel Dayem decided to launch awareness campaigns to prevent the infectious viral diseases, especially the coronavirus, through the General Authority for Cultural Palaces in its various locations across Egypt.

The awareness campaigns are set to be held in cooperation with the directorates of health in the governorates and the Information and Decision Support Center in the Council of Ministers.

Furthermore, the minister stressed the need to address minor damages in some cultural facilities in the capital and different governorates, noting the necessity of using the current suspension of activities to maintain, sterilize and raise the efficiency of all the cultural sites, including theaters, museums, galleries and others.

Work in cultural palaces is suspended until further notice, and is limited in some cultural palaces to awareness campaigns on how to sterilize the places frequented by the public.

This is in addition to screening awareness films on methods of preventing infection and spread, as well as completing the activities of the regional festival, but without audience, limiting the attendance to the jury only.

Also, a number of cultural palaces are completing the training and technological courses organized by the authority that require the attendance of a few participants in all the branches of the authority.

Activities of literary clubs and libraries are still taking place as planned because they do not consist of large gatherings.