Egypt may resort to adopting the strict preventative measures it had earlier imposed to fight the coronavirus, including reclosing activities, if infections rise once more, Egypt s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said at a televised press briefing on Wednesday.
Egypt has moved towards a gradual reopening of its economy since June, lifting some of the contagion’s restrictions as part of a plan to coexist with the virus.
The country has been recording less than 1,000 coronavirus cases per day since 9 July.
Madbouly attributed the low daily infections and deaths tally to the public s awareness.
The prime minister urged the Egyptians to continue to adhere to all precautions, including preserving social distancing and wearing face masks in crowded places to help the country to keep the daily infection tally low and to prevent a possible resurgence.
During the briefing, Madbouly said the resurgence in some countries is "due to the lack of awareness and non-compliance with the preventative measures.”
"If the country s coronavirus cases resurge, the government will be forced to [resort to] the strict measures that we were suffering from," he stressed.
Until Tuesday, Egypt has had a total of 92,947 coronavirus cases, including 4,691 fatalities and 35,959 recoveries.
The prime minister added that the total number of patients who are on ventilator devices is not more than 80 nationwide.
He added that the cabinet decided to impose some restrictions during Eid Al-Adha s four-day holiday similar to those previously imposed during Eid Al-Fitr, including keeping the public gardens and beaches closed to prevent possible gatherings.
The religious occasion will take place from Friday through Monday.
Madbouly added that the country has managed to improve its economic indicators during 2019/2020 despite the pandemic s challenges.
"We have not achieved the state s goals set prior to the pandemic but the economy is still developing… and that gives the government confidence in its previous tendency regarding balancing out the production wheel and the coronavirus precautions," he added.
"However, if the coronavirus cases increase once more the government will have to reclose many activities and that would affect our job opportunities and economic indicators," Madbouly stressed.
