Egypt’s min. of tourism & antiquities discusses plan of archaeological openings during upcoming period

CAIRO - 14 June 2020: Egypt’s Minister of Tourism & Antiquities Khaled el-Anani convened with Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri, Assistant Minister for Engineering and Historic Cairo Hisham Samir, Head of the Museum’s Sector Moemen Osman and Assistant Minister for The Minister's Office Sector Ahmed Obeid.

The convention was held to discuss the plan of the archaeological openings during the upcoming period in accordance with the pre-set schedule for the completion of the restoration and development projects of these areas and the various museums.

This includes opening the Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis, Kafr-el-Sheikh Museum, Sharm El Sheikh Museum and the Royal Vehicles Museum in Bolaq, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, the Cairo Airport and the New Administrative Capital Airport.

During the meeting, a number of precautionary measures were set for the Egyptian and foreign archaeological missions at various archaeological sites working amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri explained that these precautionary measures oblige each mission to stick to the necessary disinfection and hygiene measures, measure the daily temperatures of staff and mission members before work, wear face-masks and gloves during work, and to periodically disinfect all tools used in excavation works.

Also, the plan stipulated that the number of workers at the excavation site should not exceed 30 people, maintaining safe distances between workers in open spaces and in closed cemeteries so that no more than four people would work inside the cemetery or burial well, including the antiquities inspector.

In addition, Waziri stressed that the head of the mission and the accompanying antiquities inspector should regularly educate the mission's members and staff about the dangers of the novel virus, noting the need for everyone to adhere to the preventive measures, even while drinking and eating during the breaks. Waziri stressed that workers must bring their own personal items and not trade food and drink utensils en masse.

It is worth mentioning that a number of health safety controls have been adopted, and must be applied and followed by museums and archaeological sites to ensure the health and safety of visitors, archaeologists, inspectors, museum trustees and all staff members.