Egypt closes malls, restaurants, cinemas at night to combat virus

CAIRO: Egypt’s Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli on Wednesday announced the closure of cafes, restaurants, commercial malls, shops, cafeterias, cinemas and theaters as well as any similar facilities at 9:00 pm (local time) as of Thursday for two weeks to combat the coronavirus.

Speaking at a news conference, Madbouli said that the government decided to ban any gatherings, conferences, events, parties and artistic festivals at any facilities during this period, Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported.

The Eid al-Fitr holiday will start on May 12-16, and all public parks, gardens and beaches will be closed during this period, he added.

The Eid prayers will be performed at mosques with the same precautionary measures implemented at Friday prayer, and children are not allowed, he noted.

Madbouli called on citizens to abide by precautionary measures, stressing that Egypt has spared no efforts to deal with the pandemic.

“Egypt is still able to manage the coronavirus crisis, and we still have up to 35 percent of unoccupied intensive care units and respirators’ beds to receive patients, he said.

“We take into consideration balance between the safety of citizens and continued economic production,” he made clear.

The country is keen on providing anti-coronavirus vaccination and ensuring the largest possible amount of effective and safe vaccines to citizens, he said.(KUNA)