Egypt imposes nightly curfews to curb COVID-19 spread

Egypt has declared a curfew starting from Wednesday, March 25) to counter the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The north African country is one of the most impacted on the continent.

Schools and universities, which were shut on March 14 for two weeks, will be extended for a further two weeks.

Announcing the new measures, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said: “We announce a (nightly) curfew on public movement on all public roads starting from 7 p.m. Wednesday (1700GMT) until 6 a.m. the next day (0400GMT). I am stressing here that all the announced measures will last for two weeks.”

Most public services and government offices will close their doors to the public during the curfew period and a measure to limit the number of government employees going to work will be prolonged until mid-April.

As at March 24, Egypt has confirmed 366 cases of coronavirus, including 21 deaths. All airports have been closed to air traffic except for cargo and emergency flights.

It has taken a series of measures to prevent the spread of the illness, including closing all cafes, shopping malls, sports clubs and nightclubs since March 19.