The Egyptian government has encouraged the people on learning to live with the coronavirus pandemic after the country gradually began loosening its partial lockdown.
Egyptian Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Sharawi said Wednesday that he directed governors to oversee the implementation of the cabinet’s decisions.
The government announced on Tuesday that restaurants, cafes, sports clubs, and cultural facilities such as cinemas and theatres will be allowed to reopen, but are required to operate at 25 percent capacity.
As per the new regulations, facilities like restaurants and cafes can operate until 10 pm. Similarly, working hours for stores have been extended to 9 pm. Serving shisha pipes will continue to be banned.
As part of the new measures, places of worship will reopen for daily religious rites and prayers, but not for weekly prayers.
In addition, Egyptian Minister of Endowments Mohammed Mokhtar Jomaa said that he decided to change the call for Muslims prayers (Adhan) to “Pray at Home.”
On its website, the Ministry of Awqaf stressed that worshipers should stand on the social distancing signs placed in mosques. The ministry added that the mosque will be open 10 minutes before the azan and will be closed 10 minutes after the prayer is performed.
Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Egypt Dr. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar pointed out that his Ministry has allocated EGP80 million to encourage research as part of the Ideation Fund.
This Fund seeks to find innovation tech ideas as well as solutions to fight the pandemic in addition to developing college hospitals and enhancing the quality of medical services provided to citizens.
