Armed Forces Director of Major Projects Dies Due to COVID-19

Egypt’s Armed Forces announced on Monday morning the death of Major General Shafie Abdel Slim Dawood, Director of the Major Projects Department of the Armed Forces, as a result of being infected by COVID-19, as per Al-Ahram.

The death comes less than 24 hours after the Armed Forces announced Major General Khaled Shaltout, Director of the Water Department of the Engineering Authority, had passed away due to COVID-19.

According to the Armed Forces, both Major Generals had been working to prevent the spread of COVID-19 which has infected more than 300 Egyptians to date, per official records.

The Major Projects Department functions under the auspices of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces in Egypt. It has various subsidiaries which oversee administration in different fields such as aerospace engineering, water management, construction and infrastructure development.

The subsidiaries are also tasked with improving overall development and urban projects in the country as well as implementing health and social programs, disaster prevention policies, the strengthening of the tourism sector and education, namely through the construction of schools and universities.

In the last days, as Egypt saw the COVID-19 global pandemic’s infection rise, the Armed Forces have increased measures to contain the outbreak. The ‘Rapid Deployment Forces’, a subsidiary of the Armed Forces, have been carrying out disinfection operations in public institutions, transportation and in the streets under order of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.

In a televised speech on Sunday, Al Sisi asserted that citizens must adhere to the government’s decisions for citizens to stay at home until the first week of April as to prevent the outbreak from affecting thousands as is the case in China, Iran, and Italy.