Egypt announced on Saturday that all schools and universities will be suspended for two weeks starting March 15, as part of the country’s plans to limit the spread of the coronavirus. This is Egypt’s one chance to minimize the spread of the virus and reduce the possible collapse of its health institutions. In Italy, where the death toll has already surpassed 1,400, the coronavirus has overloaded hospitals and led nurses to collapse. It is true that the young and healthy have a lower chance to get sick or die from this, yet they can still expose more vulnerable people, whether the elderly or unwell, to the disease. To slow the spread of coronavirus, countries around the world have imposed strict quarantine measures, such as banning all public gatherings, and encouraged people to practice “social distancing”. But what is “social distancing”? Social distancing is known to be a public health practice to prevent sick people from coming in close contact with others and reduce disease transmission. According to Johns Hopkins experts, lessons from history provide sufficient evidence that these measures can work. A study found that cities that implemented strict quarantine…
