Coronavirus control: Egypt to shut all airports on March 31

Egypt will shut down its airports and air travel starting March 31 to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The new measures will heavily impact the country’s economy and tourism sectors. Some 138,000 jobs are immediately at risk and 1 billion us dollars in airline revenues has been lost, according to IATA.

“The decision of suspension of air travel in Egypt is a preventive measure to stop the outbreak of the virus.

“Of course, the state had sacrificed expected tourism revenues in order to save the health of the Egyptian citizens by taking decisive measures to stop any outbreak and this decision was not only taken by the Egyptian government but the majority of governments,” Hanan Ramsis, an economic analyst observed.

The North African nation, which has reported nearly 300 cases (as at March 22) and eight deaths from the virus, has suspended flights, closed schools, and is quarantining more than 300 families in a Nile Delta village. 42 people have also recovered during the period.

Hanan Ramsis added: “Other sectors are also negatively affected, for instance the real estate sector or anything related to purchases and sales, are witnessing a recession.

“However, on the other hand, there are some other sectors that are getting highly active like the pharmaceutical sector,” he stressed.

According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.