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Egypt shortens curfew, to reopen tourist attractions

June 11, 2020 at 4:12 pm

A goods market in Egypt, 13 June 2019 [Roxanne Shewchuk/Pexels]

Egypt is pressing ahead with withdrawing preventative measures put in place to stop the spread of coronavirus after announcing the curfew will end at 4am on Sunday, instead of 5am.

It follows an announcement that top tourist attractions will reopen with extra controls in place in time for the summer season.

Giza’s pyramids, Luxor’s Tutankhamun tomb and Aswan’s Karnak temple are among the attractions that will be opened up along with Red Sea resorts in the Sinai Peninsula and Mediterranean beaches in Alexandria, according to the state-run Al-Ahram.

Information Minister Osama Heikal said that flights to coastal cities with low infection rates will start next month.

In March Egypt stopped all international flights, closed down archaeological sites, museums and hotels as part of a plan to prevent the virus from spreading.

The Egyptian government has been criticised for being too slow to put in place preventative measures, likely because it feared the impact a lack of tourists would have on the economy.

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Tourism, remittances from Egyptians abroad and trade from the Suez Canal – top sources of revenue for Egypt – have all been affected by coronavirus.

Tourism revenues were only just starting to recover after they took a major hit following the 2013 coup.

Authorities have been criticised for pushing ahead with plans to coexist with the virus before the country is ready.

Yesterday, official figures put the number of new infections at 1,455 with 36 new deaths.

Authorities have said in recent weeks that to get an accurate idea of the virus, figures should be multiplied by up to seven times.

Doctors have called for a full lockdown as they struggle to find spaces for patients and themselves, in isolation units, adequate preventative equipment and tests.

The country’s top medical union has warned that the healthcare system is close to collapse.

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