The murmur of light conversation, the smell of freshly ground coffee, the occasional escape of a loud laugh in the background… oh to be out and about, returning to our favorite cafes and restaurants. In attempts to revive the local economy following the massive hit of the pandemic, various venues such as cafes, restaurants and even cinemas have slowly started to open their doors once again. In order to do so however, there are now strict new measures that have to be followed, such as operating at a 25 percent capacity, closing at 10 p.m. and maintaining specific sanitization standards. In Egypt, despite the fact that COVID-19 (coronavirus) cases have neither decreased nor reached a plateau, the country slowly began to re-open the economy starting June 27 and took the decision to ‘coexist’ with the virus. Although there are still those who are wary of venues re-opening and fear the spread of the virus, there are also those who have eagerly awaited to leave the confines of home and enjoy the hustle and bustle of everyday life – albeit under what has now been dubbed the ‘new normal’. In any…
