The Egyptian government on Tuesday announced a partial curfew will be imposed in the country starting Wednesday from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. for two weeks, reported Egypt Today.
During the curfew period, all forms of transportation, public or private, will remain suspended as part of measures to counter the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
During a press conference, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli said the decision to impose curfew was taken as people had not been adhering to government instructions to stay home, which had led to an increase in coronavirus cases in the country. He said that people should embrace themselves for stricter measures in the coming days. Until Tuesday, Egypt had registered 366 COVID-19 cases, including 19 deaths.
“Movement will be banned on all public roads from 7 pm to 6 am … for two weeks,” he said. “All mass transport, public and private, will be halted over the same period.”
Madbouli added that during the two-week curfew, all shops, malls, and service centers would be closed between 5 pm to 6 am and remain fully shut on Fridays and Saturdays.
Notably, most of the public services and government offices will remain closed during the curfew period and a measure to limit the number of government employees going to work will be prolonged until mid-April.
All cafes, night clubs, sports clubs, and gyms will be shut for the next two weeks, and restaurants and other food outlets will be restricted to home delivery only. The closure of schools and universities will also be extended to mid-April. Drug stores, grocery shops, and bakeries would remain open even during the curfew.
The prime minister said that penalties for violators would include a fine of up to 4,000 Egyptian pounds ($255) and even prison. He warned that the government would resort to more restrictive measures if conditions continue to deteriorate in the coming days.
