Egypt has ended a 14-day quarantine for hundreds of Egyptian citizens who had returned home from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus, Health Minister Hala Zayed announced in a press conference. Zayed said that all tests conducted on the 302 Egyptian citizens during the 14-day period, which is how long it takes for the disease to incubate, have shown that they are free of the virus or any other infectious diseases. The Egyptian government had designated El-Negelah Central Hospital in Marsa Matrouh as a quarantine hospital to house the returnees. The ministry has already taken the citizens back to their residences in Cairo and Alexandria on buses. The announcement comes two weeks after Egypt sent a special jet to bring back hundreds of Egyptian nationals from Wuhan as the epidemic caused a global scare. Last Friday, Egypt confirmed its first coronavirus case in the country, adding that the ill person was a foreigner, without giving further details. The person tested positive for the quick-spreading virus but had no symptoms, health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said over the weekend, adding that he had been quarantined in a hospital. This is the first reported case in Africa amid the outbreak of the epidemic which killed 1,770 since December, with over 70,000 infected globally, with the vast majority in mainland China.

The American University in Cairo (AUC) is celebrating the beginning of its second century by ‎organising a vibrant programme of events at its New Cairo campus from 15 to 19 February.‎ The president of the university, Francis Joseph Ricciardone told Ahram ‎Online: “AUC’s message from the centennial celebrations is that we are deeply rooted in this ‎country. We are committed to this country for the next 100 years.” ‎ Ricciardone added: “Egypt is great place. It is worthy to invest in its people. We hope other investors will ‎follow in our footsteps in education in particular.”‎ Riccardone appointed the 12th AUC president 1 July 2016. The AUC Board of Trustees ‎unanimously voted to renew its tenure for a second four-year term starting July 2020. ‎ ‎“We have the freedom to do what we think is right and get support from people who share that ‎vision. AUC has many donors, from individuals and some foundations, and pursues diverse cooperations,” Riccardone ‎continued. He added that AUC stays out of politics and supports the programmes of the ‎Egyptian government in improving the quality of higher education.‎ Through this year, AUC is focusing on the future and its plans for the next 100 ‎years, under the slogan "Be the Future." Riccardone stated that AUC s mission is to bring together great minds, and break down the barriers of ‎culture, religion, history and politics that separate people and cause distrust of one another. ‎‎ “People together from different disciplines and experiences can solve great problems of the ‎world,” he said‎. AUC moved 12 years ago from Tahrir Square to its new campus in New Cairo. “We have enough space (in New Cairo) to build for the future. ‎AUC completed phase one, focusing on the architecture of the campus. Now, we are going to tackle ‎phase two.”‎ Ricciardone will meet Monday with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to discuss ‎government priorities in education. Ricciardone concluded: ‎“We cannot predict what the future will bring. We must invest in our people and in ‎education. The future is full of opportunities beyond our dreams and full of threats and ‎challenges that lie under our deepest fears.”‎

Egypt will set up a 210 million euro ($228 million) facility north of Cairo that will convert rice straw into wood, the oil ministry said in a statement on Thursday, in a bid limit air pollution resulting from its burning. The plant, in the Nile Delta s Beheira, will produce 205,000 square meters a year of medium-density fiberboards (MDF), using technologies by Germany s plant engineering firm Siempelkamp, which will help carry out the project. Burning agricultural waste, mostly rice straw, has for years posed a major environmental challenge and caused severe air pollution in the already highly-polluted country. Experts have said rice straw has plenty of potential uses. A deal for the project was signed on Thursday between newly-established state wood technology company WOTECH and state-owned oil firm Petrojet during an international energy conference in Cairo. Another agreement was signed with the German firm. The project will help support government s efforts "to transform rice straw from an environmental challenge into an economic opportunity," the ministry said. It is part of the ministry s plans to expand in the petrochemical industry and set up new projects to provide main production materials for many local industries, the ministry said. The project was first announced in October. The ministry said at the time it is the first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East and the second globally after the United States. The plant will produce high-quality local products that will be used in various sectors like furniture, construction, and decoration, the ministry added. The project s shareholders include the Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company, the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, SEDPC company, and Petrojet.