The Egyptian government on Sunday announced a change in the night curfew timings as it recorded new highs in the daily increases in novel coronavirus cases and deaths, reported Reuters.
Minister of Information Osama Heikal announced the night curfew will now begin at 8 pm and continue until 5 am instead of 6 a.m. The night curfew, closure of schools, cafes and places of worship are some of the measures adopted by the government to curb the pandemic.
Heikal said the government is working together in an integrated manner to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
The Egyptian Health Ministry announced the country reported a new record of 1,536 COVID-19 daily infections in a single day, raising the total number of cases registered in the country to 24,985 and deaths to 959. It is the fourth consecutive day for Egypt’s COVID-19 daily infections to surpass 1,000.
The Egyptian government confirmed that the number of hospitals designated to deal with coronavirus cases, in addition to previously assigned quarantine facilities, is rising to 376 from 340, and the number of laboratories capable of processing test results to 57 from 49. The 340 hospitals have 3,539 intensive care unit beds and 2,218 ventilators.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said life in Egypt is expected to return back to normal by mid-June, with restrictions currently in place to be lifted, even as the number of confirmed infections accelerates. He added that precautionary measures to coexist with the coronavirus will remain in place even after life returns to normal, the most important of which is wearing face masks in public.
Egypt reported its first COVID-19 confirmed case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the pandemic on March 8. The Egyptian capital Cairo has reported the maximum number of coronavirus cases in the country.
