Egypt warns of ’tougher measures’ if coronavirus crisis worsens

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi yesterday urged citizens to follow “government measures” in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“If we have achieved success over the past period, we don’t want to lose what we have done during the next few weeks,” Al-Sisi said.

Addressing the nation, he called on Egyptians to “pay attention to the crisis during the current period more than before,” warning of “tougher measures if the coronavirus crisis develops”.

Egypt has so far recorded 3,891 infection cases, 276 of whom have died, according to Health Ministry official data. However Canadian researchers believe the number to be significantly higher amid questions that the government is covering up the extent of infections.

Since appearing in Wuhan, China, in December, the virus has spread to at least 184 countries and regions. So far at least 2,697,990 people have contracted the virus, 189,134 have died, and 741,096 have recovered, according to the US’ Worldometers. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the outbreak a pandemic.

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