{"id":43041,"date":"2020-06-25T04:22:38","date_gmt":"2020-06-25T04:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=43041"},"modified":"2020-06-25T04:22:38","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T04:22:38","slug":"egyptians-cautious-as-government-instigates-partial-return-to-normalcy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=43041","title":{"rendered":"Egyptians cautious as government instigates partial return to normalcy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nCAIRO:\u00a0After a 90-day curfew, the Egyptian government has eased some of the precautionary measures it imposed to counter the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nThe government revealed on Tuesday a raft of new measures as part of its previously announced \u201cCoexist with the virus\u201d plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nPrime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said that, starting Saturday, June 27, certain precautionary measures will be lifted, but stressed the need for the general public to remain vigilant.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nMosques will reopen for the five daily prayers, but not for weekly or congregational prayers, such as Friday prayers, that draw bigger crowds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nCaf\u00e9s and restaurants will be allowed to operate at 25 percent capacity, as will sports clubs and youth centers. Beaches and parks will remain closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nCultural installations and cinemas will reopen but must maintain strict safety measures including sanitation, disinfection, social distancing, and the wearing of facemasks. The government announced that anyone who violates the measures will be penalized.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nSayed Hafez, a math teacher in a Cairo school, told Arab News that coexistence with the coronavirus is inevitable but that a return to pre-COVID \u201cnormal life\u201d was just a matter of time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nHafez underlined that the Egyptian economy cannot bear further losses. \u201cLosses resulting from the halt of all economic activities because of the coronavirus are much bigger than the losses of returning back to normal,\u201d he said. \u201cA huge sector of the Egyptian people is now haunted by the threat of losing everything (if) the lockdown continues.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nHafez added that it was vital for people to wear facemasks and maintain recommended sanitization practices to minimize infections.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nHoda Fouad, an employee, believes that going back to normal life while the country continues to see around 1,300-1,500 new COVID-19 cases daily is \u201ca huge mistake,\u201d because such a step could lead to a hike in infections especially when people are longing to visit restaurants, cafes and mosques.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI doubt that people will implement safety measures,\u201d Fouad told the press. \u201cThe government had previously bet on people\u2019s awareness, lost that gamble, and even admitted it. The people will not help the government implement its coexistence plan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nShe added that some people want to minimize their financial losses suffered during the pandemic. \u201cHence, they will open with full capacity and will manipulate the government\u2019s decisions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nAhmed Mubarak, a law student, mocked the government\u2019s recent decisions. \u201cI want to know: How is the 25-percent capacity of caf\u00e9s and restaurants applicable? If somebody goes to a caf\u00e9, will he be told that the caf\u00e9 is full?\u201d he asked. \u201cHow is it possible for people to drink (safely while) wearing facemasks? How can people go to restaurants to eat while wearing facemasks?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWhat is happening is absurd. Egyptians cannot coexist with the coronavirus and there will be more infections,\u201d Mubarak continued. \u201cI hope that there will be no blackout during the upcoming period with regards to the number of fatalities as a way for the government to prove its point of view.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nCabinet spokesman Nader Saad confirmed that shops would have to close by 9 p.m. and food establishments by 10 p.m. \u2014 something he said would continue even after the COVID-19 pandemic ends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe coronavirus crisis will undoubtedly contribute to changing lifestyles on all levels,\u201d Secretary-General of the Training and Learning Committee at the Egyptian Freedom Party Maged Talaat said.\u00a0 \u201dEducation and work will never be as they used to be. Society will change, and life will be marked by some restrictions and warnings, in addition to banning all forms of (mass) gatherings,\u201d Talaat said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe form of life the government is currently trying to create is relatively acceptable,\u201d Talaat told journalists. \u201cIt will contribute to minimizing the chaos that existed on Egypt\u2019s streets prior to the pandemic. However, Egyptian citizens are actually (facing) a huge test: either comply with health and safety regulations or face dire consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CAIRO:\u00a0After a 90-day curfew, the Egyptian government has eased some of the precautionary measures it imposed to counter the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).\u00a0 The government revealed on Tuesday a raft of new measures as part of its previously announced \u201cCoexist with the virus\u201d plan.\u00a0 Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly said that, starting Saturday, June…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43041\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}