Egypt to reopen restaurants and places of worship, lift nighttime curfew starting next week

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Egypt to reopen restaurants and places of worship, lift nighttime curfew starting next week

Egypt will reopen restaurants, sporting clubs and places of worship and will abolish a nighttime curfew imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus starting Saturday, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and a cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday.

In a televised briefing, Madbouly announced easing precautionary measures in place since March, allowing restaurants, cafes and sporting clubs to reopen at a reduced capacity of 25 percent in the first phase.

Cafes and restaurants will now be allowed to open until 10 pm, while shops will be required to close at 9 pm instead of the current 6. A shisha ban will remain in place, Madbouly said, to eliminate the risk of spreading the virus.

Mosques and churches will also be allowed to reopen for daily prayers and masses as of Saturday, but will remain closed for the weekly congregational prayers and masses on Friday for Muslims and Sunday for Copts, the prime minister added. Community centers and at places of worship will remain shut nationwide, he added.

A nightime curfew that now runs from 8 pm until 4 am will be lifted starting Saturday, cabinet media adviser Hany Younes said.

The measures will be reviewed by authorities before they decide on gradually relaxing them further, Madbouly said.

Public transportation will be allowed to operate starting 4 am until 12 am, he said.Cinemas and theaters will also be allowed to reopen starting next week also at a reduced capacity of 25 percent and pursuant to preventive measures, while public parks and beaches will remain shut due to fears of overcrowding, he added.

The curfew was first introduced in March as part of a series of measures to curtail the spread of the virus and has been extended several times since. Other measures include suspending air traffic, shuttering schools and universities and banning public gatherings.

The curfew has been revised multiple times, the latest in mid June, to run from 8 pm till 4 am.

However, since June, Egypt has pushed towards the gradual reopening of some of its vital sectors heavily suffering from the pandemic amid a plan to coexist with the virus.

Tuesday’s measures come nearly a week after Egypt announced it will gradually resume regular international flights at all its airports starting from July 1, but foreign tourists will only be allowed into three coastal governorates.

The areas that will open for foreign tourists in the first stage are South Sinai, where the popular seaside resort of Sharm El-Sheikh is located, the Red Sea governorate, home to the city of Hurghada, and Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean.

Flights will be resumed with countries that have reopened their airports, according to aviation minister Mohamed Manar.

Egypt halted all international flights on 19 March in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It has since only allowed its airports to open to domestic, freight and special repatriation flights.

The government has so far allowed over 250 hotels that have met safety protocols to reopen at a reduced occupancy rate to revive its key tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the virus restrictions.

The permitted occupancy rate of the reopened hotels was initially set at 25 percent, but was increased to 50 percent earlier this month.

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