Cairo Metro has put in place several precautionary measures to confront the spread of the new coronavirus among travelers, including a decision to ban gatherings in train stations.
The metro is considered the most rapid and popular means of transportation in the Egyptian capital, especially after the partial curfew that was imposed by Egyptian authorities, which has pushed Egyptians to catch the metro before curfew hours.
Ahmad Abdul Hadi, the official spokesperson for Cairo Metro, confirmed that they are "coordinating with the transport police and the metro police to prevent crowds inside stations.”
Abdul Hadi added, "There will be an extensive campaign in all stations and all three train lines to prevent gatherings on pavements inside stations that could spread the coronavirus among travelers".
The Metro administration has already disinfected the trains and pavements and distributed masks to travelers.
Cairo Metro was opened in the 1980s, with three lines: El-Marg-Helwan, Shobra-Giza and Abbassia-Nasr.
In his statement, Abdul Hadi clarified that "there are 15 aid stations in Cairo Metro that are ready to attend to any emergency, and any suspected case of coronavirus will be referred to the nearest hospital to be immediately dealt with".
"I ride the metro every day from Shobra station on Line 2 to my work at Kobri El-Qobba on Line 1,” Raafat Ahmad says. "After the coronavirus crisis, strict precautions were necessary, especially in stations and inside the trains.”
He adds: "Security measures will limit gatherings on some pavements, especially by young people".
At the same time, social media users mocked a "limited celebratory march" in Alexandria that was organized on Thursday to celebrate Ramadan a few hours before the partial curfew, despite all of the precautions that the Egyptian government was taking to fight the pandemic. This compelled security forces to carry out some arrests after videos of the march were published on social media sites.
On Thursday, the government extended the partial curfew that it had imposed on March 25 to start at 9 PM instead of 8 PM, lasting until 6 AM, during Ramadan.
