In a press conference earlier today, Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly announced that Egypt will be loosening its COVID-19 public health and safety regulations, issuing a new set of measures for the upcoming period, effective Saturday the 27th of June. Starting Saturday, restaurants, cafés, sports clubs, and cultural facilities such as cinemas and theaters will be allowed to reopen, but are required to operate at 25 percent of their capacity, according to Madbouly’s statement. As per the new regulations, facilities like restaurants and cafés can operate everyday until 10 PM. Similarly, working hours for stores have been extended to 9 PM and public transport services will be operating from 4 AM to midnight everyday. As part of the new measures, mosques, churches and other places of worship will reopen for daily religious rites and prayers, but not for weekly or congregational prayers that draw bigger crowds—such as Friday prayers at mosques and Sunday masses at church. Toilets as well as ballrooms, halls and event spaces will be closed at religious facilities. Additionally, under the new regulations, serving shisha pipes will continue to be banned, and public beaches and parks won’t…
Egypt Lifts Most COVID-19 Restrictions, Moves to ‘Coexist’ With the Virus
June 23, 2020
