Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi appealed on Monday to his people to help stem the spread of the coronavirus by staying at home and practicing social distancing.
He warned that that numbers of infections could be in thousands within days, if people did not take the virus seriously.
His warning came as a senior Egyptian military official died on Monday from coronavirus, state media said, a day after announcing the death of another senior official in the army.
Major General Shafie Abdel Halim Dawoud "died while fighting the coronavirus", state television said, without giving any details. State media announced on Sunday that Major General Khaled Shaltout had died for the same reason.
“Help us, Egyptians!” Sisi appealed to his people on Monday. “We want more commitment and discipline for the next two weeks in order to stem the spread of the coronavirus in Egypt.”
He urged Egypt’s more than 100 million people to take the spread of virus “very seriously.”
He said his government has taken “simple measures” including the closure of schools and universities, a nightly curfew on shops, restaurants and other businesses in efforts to minimize interaction between people.
He also thanked doctors and health workers as “heroes” who are fighting “a battle like a “war.”
Egypt’s health ministry added 33 more confirmed cases of the coronavirus and four new deaths, bringing the total number to 327 and 14 deaths.
It said over 50 were discharged from the quarantine after their recovery.
