Saudi Arabia will extend visas for Egyptian nationals stranded in the kingdom due to a suspension of flights to and from both countries amid the coronavirus outbreak, Egypt s foreign ministry said. Visas for visitors will be extended online for the same duration originally granted, the ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Umra pilgrims whose visas expired will also be allowed to apply for an extension, by 28 March, to be exempted from fines or any ensuing legal effects, it added. Earlier, the Gulf country notified visitors of all nationalities whose visas were about to expire that they can extend their stay online for up to 180 days, after paying certain fees. Egypt has 456 confirmed coronavirus cases and 21 deaths, while the Gulf kingdom registered 900 infections and two deaths.

The vast majority of coronavirus cases detected in Egypt were in direct contact with affected people, Egypt s health ministry spokesman said. “More than 90 percent of the newly discovered coronavirus cases in Egypt had come into contact with previously detected cases,” Khaled Megahed said in TV comments late Tuesday, stressing that exercising caution and avoiding gatherings and social interaction is key to combating the spread of the virus. Megahed s comments to a talk show on Sada El-Balad TV Channel came after the Egyptian government declared a nighttime curfew from 7pm to 6am for two weeks starting Wednesday, as part of broad measures to curb the deadly virus. Egypt has 402 confirmed coronavirus cases in 24 of the country s 27 governorates, including 20 fatalities, according to the health ministry. Of the total, 80 people have so far recovered. Megahed said Egypt is currently working on increasing the number of hospitals earmarked for coronavirus patients. The country currently has five isolation hospitalsn in Marsa Matrouh, Luxor, Ismailia, Alexandria and Daqahliya. "We are currently working on preparing more hospitals equipped with intensive care equipment and medical teams to be used when needed," Megahed said. Separately, Megahed was quoted in local media as saying that five additional hospitals have been earmarked for coronavirus cases, including two in Cairo s Agouza and 15th of May districts. Hospitals across the country are equipped with the supplies and facilities necessary for tackling the outbreak, the spokesman said. “We lacked some equipment at the beginning, but we have recently signed supply orders to cover our needs," he said. Egypt has taken a raft of measures to curb the spread of the respiratory disease, including suspending international flights, shutting down schools, universities, mosques and churches, halting all entertainment activities, and reducing the number of government employees going to work.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has instructed the government to take additional precautionary measure to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the country. The president said in a tweet that he has tasked the government with implementing additional precautionary measures to ensure the safety of Egyptians without affecting their necessary daily needs. President El-Sisi emphasised that he has confidence that the Egyptian people will respond to these measures in a manner that preserves the country s security and safety. Egypt has been implementing increasingly strict measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the country, including suspending air traffic, reducing the number of public sector employees working at state institutions, and shutting schools, universities, mosques and churches. Egypt has so far registered 366 coronavirus cases, including 19 fatalities.

Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi lauded on Monday the Chinese success in containing coronavirus in a telephone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday afternoon, the Egyptian presidency said. El-Sisi expressed to Xi his aspiration to boost cooperation between the health establishments of the two countries to benefit from the Chinese mechanism to manage the coronavirus crisis. The Chinese president expressed his people and government’s gratitude for Egypt’s quick aid to the country during the crisis. He asserted that China was fully ready to present its experience and capabilities to combat the virus. The Egyptian presidency added that the two leaders agreed to boost strategic cooperation between the two countries especially when it comes to the localisation of Chinese technology.

Egypt is still in the second phase of the coronavirus outbreak, health ministry spokesman Khaled Meghaded said, adding that country is working to prevent entering the third stage of the pandemic. In comments to a late-night TV talk show on MBC Masr channel on Saturday, Megahed said the second level of the virus’ spread means the country is still able to track the number and source of infections, naming the current phase the “cluster of cases.” The third stage of the outbreak is characterised by the inability to detect the source of the virus or to track its spread. Megahed called this the “community transmission” phase. “We have not entered this [third] stage yet; we are still able to track the virus,” the spokesman said. The health ministry has identified three stages of the coronavirus outbreak. The pre-epidemic phase when virus cases are detected, the disease spread phase when the source of infections is identified and the third is the community transmission phase. Egypt has so far registered 294 coronavirus cases, including 10 deaths. Egypt has introduced a series of sweeping measure to contain the spread of the virus, including suspending air traffic, closing schools and universities and shutting malls and cafes overnight. The country also announced on Saturday that it is shutting all mosques and churches.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received a phone call on Thursday from German Chancellor Angela Markel to discuss the latest development of international efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, as well as other regional issues including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the situation in Libya. The Egyptian president expressed the solidarity of the Egyptian government and people with the friendly people of Germany in such circumstances, affirming Egypt s keenness to exchange expertise and enhance cooperation between healthcare facilities in both countries within the international framework of combating the spread of the coronavirus. Germany has recorded more than 12,000 coronavirus infections, with the latest 3,000 cases registered in the past 24 hours, and 43 deaths. Egypt has confirmed six virus deaths out of a total 210 infections recorded until Thursday. "The German chancellor showed appreciation for Egypt s support for Germany, which reflects the strength of ties between both countries, noting the importance of enhancing joint cooperation between Egyptian and German authorities within the international efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus", Egypt s Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady said. The two leaders also exchanged points of view on regional files of mutual concerns, including the current situation in Libya in light of the outcome of the Berlin Conference. "El-Sisi and Merkel also discussed the latest developments in the GERD file within the outcome of the recent Washington talks and Egypt s signing of the agreement in Washington in February," the spokesperson added. Addis Ababa did not attend the last round of US-sponsored talks on the dam in February, citing the need for more time for further domestic consultations. Only Egypt has initialed the resulting agreement, drafted by the US, on the filling and operation of the dam, with Ethiopia and Sudan both declining to sign it. Over the past weeks, Egyptian officials have delivered messages on developments related to the GERD to Gulf and European partners, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France and the European Union, in an attempt to seek support.

Egypt s health ministry will open 13 new laboratories across governorates on Thursday to conduct tests for the novel coronavirus, a health ministry official said. The number of labs are expected to be increased later, Nancy El-Gendy, Head of the ministry s Central Department of Laboratories said in TV comments late on Tuesday. "All citizens can head to fever hospitals to be checked...and they will be then referred to the central laboratories once they show any symptoms," she said in comments to state TV. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for the coronavirus costs 1,000 Egyptian pound ($ 63.5), but patients referred from fever hospitals can do the test free of charge, El-Gendy said. Ministry staff members are currently being trained to use new corona detection kits and medical equipment Egypt has imported as part of efforts to stem the spread of the virus, she said. Egypt has 196 confirmed coronavirus cases and six deaths, including three foreigners. The country has imposed a series of sweeping measures to curb the spread of the global pandemic, including the suspension of international flights to and from the country, which will begin on Thursday and last until the end of the month. The country has also closed schools and universities, halted all sporting events, imposed restrictions on the duration of prayers, and said it will reduce the number of public sector employees who need to go into work.

Ethiopia demands "serious and fair" talks in order to return to the negotiating table with Egypt and Sudan over its giant dam project on the River Nile, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew said. In an interview with China Global Television Network CGTN, Gedu said resolving the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD requires a "strong political will" from the Egyptian side. Tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt over the $4.8 billion dam were building up after Addis Ababa did not attend the latest round of US-sponsored talks held in Washington in late February, which were expected to generate a final deal. It cited the need for more time for further domestic consultations. Only Egypt initialed an agreement crafted by the US over the filling and operation of the dam, while Ethiopia and Sudan did not. Ethiopia said it plans to commence filling the dam s reservoir in July, though outstanding issues over the filling and operation of the dam remain unsolved. "The solution for disagreement again is negotiations. We demand serious and fair talks to take place for us to return to the table once again. The only chance we have is to agree on this. For this, strong political will from the Egyptian side is needed," Gedu said in the interview, a clip of which was published by the foreign ministry on Monday. Following Ethiopia s absence from the Washington talks, Egypt accused it of deliberately not attending to "hinder the path of negotiations". Ethiopia hopes the mega project, which is now around 71% complete, will make it Africa s biggest power exporter. But Cairo fears the project will restrict supplies of the Nile waters, on which it is almost entirely dependent. Gedu said the mega project is key to his country s efforts to eliminate poverty and overcome its acute shortage of electricity. "In Ethiopia, more than 65 million citizens live without electricity and the investors we are inviting to help us defeat poverty are suffering from insufficient power supply, preventing industries from bearing fruit, and hundreds of factories are affected by this," Gedu said. "Every year, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians graduate from high schools and universities, its mandatory to create jobs for these young people," he said. "The key for [resolving] all these problems is found in the completion of Renaissance Dam project." Gedu emphasized that Ethiopia, nevertheless, never sought to solely benefit from the Nile water. "Though the source of most of the Nile water can be located in Ethiopia and even with over 85 percent of the water contributed by Ethiopia, Ethiopia not a single day said we have to benefit from this water alone," he said. "The water of the Nile belongs to Ethiopians, Egyptians, Sudanese and people of other Nile basin countries." "We give full recognition for the right of basin nations to use the water and we properly understand our right of using the Nile water responsibly," Gedu said. Gedu has slammed the Arab League s push to resolve the row with Egypt over the dam as "unacceptable", after the pan-Arab bloc earlier this month adopted a draft resolution supporting Egypt s stance on the dispute. Sudan insisted its name be removed from the resolution, saying it "does not serve the spirit of dialogue and negotiations", drawing Cairo s criticism which said Sudan sought to "weaken the effect of the resolution." "The [Arab] League s intervention and promotion of conflict on a matter that is not even concluded yet between the three countries is unacceptable", the Ethiopian minister said. The bloc had a chance to use this situation to strengthen ties between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, he said "We believe the Arab League can still positively impact the differences between Ethiopia and Egypt. The Arab league should have a role to promote solidarity among countries in the Eastern African region and the Middle East based on mutual cooperation."

Egypt will suspend international flights to and from the country from 19 till 31 March at all airports nationwide to stem the spread of the coronavirus, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced on Monday. "The decisions taken by the government to fight the virus has economic repercussions, but the state’s priority is to protect citizens," PM Madbouly said in a press conference held at the cabinet in Cairo. Madbouly also said that recent flight suspensions have resulted in financial losses for Egyptian airlines exceeding EGP 2.25 billion. The PM added that all hotels and tourist attractions in the country will be sterilised over the next two weeks. More to follow

Egypt has registered 17 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total of number of cases detected in the country to 110, the health ministry said in a statement. The new cases reported are 14 Egyptians and three foreigners, the ministry said. Two of the Egyptians had returned from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while the rest had come into contact with previously diagnosed carriers. Out of the 110 cases, 21 have recovered and were released from a quarantine hospital, and 33 tested negative for the virus in two separate PCR tests performed over 48 hours, the ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Egypt has recorded two deaths from the coronavirus, a German tourist and a 60-year-old Egyptian woman. With the rise in the number of cases, Egypt said on Saturday that it is closing schools and universities for two weeks to prevent the spread of the virus. The presidency said that the move aims to "deal with any possible repercussions" from the virus. Since it emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected more than 157,000 people globally and killed more than 5,800.

Egypt’s Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that a coronavirus patient has passed away and that 13 new coronavirus cases have been discovered in the country. According to a statement by the health ministry, the patient who passed away was an Egyptian woman in the city of Mansura, Daqahliya governorate. This is the second death caused by coronavirus in Egypt. The first death was of a German tourist.

Egypt s Ministry of Transport said in a statement Tuesday that it has been distributing medical face masks to workers and passengers at Cairo metro stations at peak times and in busy stations, and to passengers on busy train lines, as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The Egyptian Company for Metro Management and Operation announced that it has been distributing face masks to passengers on the metro s three lines at peak hours. According to the statement, the company has been distributing masks in station halls, at ticket offices, on platforms and inside trains. The statement added that the metro company will continue to sterilise metro trains and stations during and after daily operation hours. The metro company added that it has installed posters approved by the Ministry of Health in all metro stations about the symptoms of coronavirus and how to prevent infection. The metro company also broadcast through station internal broadcasting facilities the dos and don ts for virus protection.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia are operating limited flights between the two countries to facilitate the return of their nationals, authorities in both countries said, after the Gulf kingdom suspended travel to and from some countries including Egypt. Egypt s flagship airline EgyptAir said early on Tuesday that it is temporarily operating flights to Saudi Arabia from Tuesday till 24 March to "bring back Egyptians stuck in the kingdom". The national carrier will run two daily flights from the port city of Jeddah to Cairo, one daily trip from Medina to Cairo, in addition to flights from the cities of Riyadh, Dammam, Qassim and Abha, it added in a statement. On Monday, Saudi Arabia suspended travel to nine countries, including Egypt, over coronavirus fears and banned the entry of people from those countries or any traveller who has been there in the past 14 day. However, the Saudi Embassy in Cairo later said that flights between the two countries on Saudi and Egyptian airlines would be operated on Tuesday and Wednesday to take its citizens back home. Egypt s foreign ministry said the decision only applies to Saudi nationals present in Egypt and does not include Egyptians. According to official figures, Egyptian airports usually have nearly 70 daily flights between the two countries, mostly operated by EgyptAir and Saudi Airlines. Egypt announced late on Monday that the number of coronavirus cases in the country has risen climbed to 59, with the health ministry saying on Tuesday that 26 of patients have now tested negative for the virus. Egypt reported on Sunday that a German national was the first coronavirus patient to die in the country. Saudi Arabia detected five new cases of the coronavirus late on Monday, bringing the total number of cases to 20, including one Egyptian man who arrived from Egypt to the kingdom, the kingdom s health ministry said.

The Egyptian consulate general in Milan issued a statement on Sunday calling on all Egyptians in northern Italy to be cautious over the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic in the northern parts of the country. The consulate urged all expats to adhere to necessary preventive measures by avoiding crowded places and limiting their outings, especially for the elderly, adding that it is in communication with Italian authorities to check on Egyptian expats. The consulate also asserted the need to report any coronavirus cases among the Egyptian expat community via its official social network page, its emergency number (3890048448), or the email of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Italy (Consolatogenerale.egitto.milano@gmail.com). Italy has locked down much of its northern region, including the financial capital Milan, in an attempt to contain the outbreak of coronavirus, which saw the number of deaths leap sharply again on Sunday. Egypt s foreign ministry announced last week that at least two Egyptian expats in northern Italy had contracted the coronavirus and that the consulate was following up on their cases. There are 560,000 Egyptians living in Italy, according to a 2017 census by the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics. Italy is considered the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry embarked Saturday on a seven Arab countries regional tour, the Egyptian foreign ministry said. Shoukry s first stop is in Amman, Jordan. According to statements of the foreign ministry, Shoukry is going to hand over letters from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to his counterparts in the Arab countries he is visiting. In a tweet Saturday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali El-Hakeem said that Shoukry was going to visit Baghdad Sunday as his second stop where he would hand over a message from President El-Sisi to Iraqi President Barham Salih. Shoukry s tour includes Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the UAE.

US mining company Sprott and mining group La Mancha intend to bid on Egypt s international gold mining tender this month, while Canada s Kinross Gold plans to make large investments in the country s mining sector, Egypt s oil ministry said. Egypt will launch a tender for gold mining in the mineral-rich Eastern Desert in mid-March, with blocks planned to be awarded to bidders within four months. The country passed a new mining law last year to encourage exploration and production. The law removes the requirement for mining companies to enter into joint ventures with the Egyptian government and sets a cap of 20 percent on state royalties. Chairman of Sprott US holdings Rick Rule expressed his company s "desire to take part in the international gold exploration tender" during his meeting with Egypt s Oil Minister Tarek El-Molla, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. The minister is holding talks with top executives from world mining firms on the sideline of an international mining conference in Toronto, Canada. La Mancha Group, which is chaired by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, will also take part in the bidding round; it promised to "funnel large investments in mining in Egypt," the ministry added. The oil minister discussed the details of the bidding round with La Mancha Executive Vice-President Vincent Benoit, and said that Egypt will carry out a seismic survey of 500,000 square kilometers in the Western Desert to "support future tenders " in the region. This would be followed by continuous surveys of other areas with gold potential nationwide, he added. Officials from Canadian-based miner Kinross Gold Corp also said they plan to put large investments into Egypt, and to make the county among its "top five priorities for its global investments in the coming years".

Egyptian convicted top militant Hisham Ashmawy was executed by hanging on Wednesday morning, the military said in a statement. Ashmawy was captured in the eastern Libyan city of Derna in late 2018 and was handed over to Egypt by forces loyal to commander Khalifa Haftar in May last year. He s been described as the country s most dangerous terrorist. He was handed two death sentences after being convicted of orchestrating several high-profile terror attacks. "Today, the death sentence by hanging was carried out on terrorist defendant Hisham Ali Ashmawi," the military said in an audio statement posted on its official Facebook page. Ashmawy, a former Egyptian special forces officer, led Sinai-based Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, Egypt s most active militant group. He broke off after the group swore allegiance to the Islamist State group in late 2014. The army said Ashmawy was convicted in 14 crimes including a prominent 2014 ambush that killed 22 Egyptian military border guards near the frontier with Libya and a failed assassination attempt on a former interior minister in 2013. Other crimes listed include targeting ships in the Suez Canal and involvement in deadly assaults on security buildings and armoured vehicles. Earlier this week, a criminal court sentenced Ashmawy to death after convicting him and 36 others of terrorism charges in over 50 crimes including murder of policemen. He received another death sentence in November 2019 by a military court over similar charges. Ashmawy sneaked into Libya to join the militant Ansar Al-Sharia group and later founded a new Al-Qaeda-aligned group called Al-Mourabitoun after switching his allegiance away from the Islamic State group, the military had said earlier.

Egypt is fully confident that China, as a super power, will defeat coronavirus at the earliest time possible, Health and Population Minister Hala Zayed said on Monday. Zayed made her remarks during a press conference held at the Egyptian embassy in Beijing on the fringe of her visit to China, upon the directives of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, to show solidarity with the Chinese people against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. China has provided Egypt with 1,000 virus detectors along with the updated version of the technical documents illustrating the precautionary measures taken against the epidemic, which will be of great use to contain the virus spread, Zayed noted. She said her current visit coincided with President Sisi’s decision to mark a number of Egyptian landmarks in the colors of the Chinese flag in a humanitarian gesture of solidarity with the Chinese people. The minster added the Egyptian people will soon join their Chinese brethren in their celebrations for eradicating the coronavirus, commending the effective precautionary measures taken by the Chinese government to protect the Chinese people and all humanity from the deadly virus. These measures have contributed to curbing the virus spread at the international level, Zayed said. In the past weeks, Egypt had upped preventive measures at all entry points nationwide to combat a global outbreak of the China originated disease. The epidemic has killed over 3,000 people worldwide, with the vast majority in mainland China. It has infected a near 90,000 globally, with infections hitting every continent except Antarctica.

Egypt detected late Sunday its second novel coronavirus case after a ‘foreigner’ tested positive for the disease, a joint statement by the health ministry and the World Health Organization (WHO) read. Health ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said the foreigner was placed in an isolation hospital and was currently receiving needed medical treatment. Details about the patient’s nationality were not provided. Megahed said the case is stable, adding that the ministry is currently undertaking necessary preventive measures regarding those who were in contact with the case. WHO s Representative in Egypt John Jabbour praised the Egyptian government’s transparency and swiftness in dealing with the matter, hailing its keenness on reporting the suspected case to WHO. The announcement came hours after health minister Hala Zayed said at a press conference in Cairo International Airport ahead of travel to China that 1,443 people had been tested so far, with only one tested positive and later cleared on Thursday following recovery. In the past weeks, Egypt had upped preventive measures at all entry points nationwide to combat a global outbreak of the China originated disease. The epidemic has killed over 3,000 people worldwide, with the vast majority in mainland China. It has infected 88,000 globally, with infections hitting every continent except Antarctica.

Egypt s Interior Minister Mahmoud Tawfik underlined Saturday the need to activate bilateral and multilateral security coordination mechanisms among Arab security services in light of growing security challenges facing Arab countries. The minister explained that cooperation is needed to confront threats associated with the spread of extremist ideologies. Tawfik s statement came upon his arrival in Tunisia late Saturday to participate in the 37th session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, which kicks off 1 March in Tunis. The session will be attended by Arab interior ministers, high-level security delegations, as well as representatives from the European Union, Arab League, International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), the UN Counter-Terrorism Office, and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, among others. The session is set to discuss a number of issues, including the criteria for listing and delisting on the Arab blacklist of terrorist perpetrators, masterminds and funders, and establishing a working force to monitor terrorist threats and analyse terrorist acts. The Egyptian interior minister was received at Tunis airport by his Tunisian counterpart. Minister Tawfik praised "the tireless efforts made by the Tunisian Ministry of Interior and the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers for the success of the annual ministerial session."