Egypt declared on Tuesday it will impose a nationwide curfew as part of its effort to combat the new coronavirus outbreak.
Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said the 7 pm to 6 am two-week curfew will be imposed starting Wednesday.
Emergency law measures will be applied to those who violate curfew, he warned.
The curfew means that most public offices and government services will be shut during this period, he added. All kinds of transportation will be halted.
Egypt has 366 confirmed cases and 21 fatalities, including two senior military officers.
Madbouly said shops and malls will be closed Fridays and Saturdays and are allowed to work five days a week from 7 am till 5 pm. He said groceries, bakeries and pharmacies would be excluded from the closure order.
The PM also extended the closure of schools and universities for an additional two weeks from March 31
“We aim to protect our families and citizens across Egypt,” he said. “There are more restrictive measures that we will take according to the developments.” He did not elaborate.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi had on Monday discussed in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, Beijing’s measures in combating the outbreak, hoping to benefit from its expertise to counter the virus in Egypt.
Xi said China was fully prepared to help Egypt fight the pandemic.
Arrests in Jordan
More than 1,600 people have been arrested in Jordan in three days for violating a curfew aimed at stemming the spread of coronavirus, a security official said Tuesday.
The source said the 1,657 people arrested across Jordan since the curfew came into effect on Saturday had been placed in quarantine centers run by the army.
The government has warned that people caught breaking the rules would be quarantined for 14 days and could also face up to one year of jail time.
The kingdom has reported 127 cases of the COVID-19 virus so far, but no officially declared deaths in the country of around 10 million people.
Jordan imposed the curfew after citizens failed to heed instructions not to leave home except for emergencies, and it has deployed the army to enforce the measure.
In the capital on Tuesday, a fleet of 190 buses chartered by the municipality started to deliver bread directly to homes, while pharmacies and water distributors have been authorized to make home delivery sales.
Jordan has also banned travel between provinces, sealed off Amman and suspended public transport and flights.
Russia sends aid to Syria
A cargo ship operated by the Russian Navy transited Turkey’s Bosphorus strait en route to Syria on Tuesday loaded with ambulances, a Reuters reporter saw.
Syria reported its first case of coronavirus on Sunday after weeks of rejecting opposition allegations that the disease had already reached a country with a wrecked health system and thousands of Iranian-backed militias.
The Russian Dvinitsa-50 ship, part of Moscow’s auxiliary fleet, was carrying at least three military ambulances along with a shipping container on its deck.
Russia, which has provided military support for the regime since 2015, operates a naval facility at Tartus in Syria and an airbase in Latakia.
The Russian military said on Monday that none of its servicemen had contracted the coronavirus.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was tested for the virus after returning from Syria this week, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Tuesday. He tested negative.
