Battle over COVID-19 as fear grows in Southern Egypt

Egypt has announced preventive measures to battle COVID-19 following fears over the spread of the coronavirus.

On Saturday, the health ministry said 33 new cases were reported on a Cruise ship on the Nile River in Luxor.

“The problem was only in a Nile cruise ship, and all medical measures have been taken. Thankfully all the negative cases on board can now leave Egypt, and we are offering all the medical facilities to them”, Kaled Al- Anani, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities said.

The Egyptian crew and foreign passengers aboard the ship disembarked in the southern city of Luxor on Sunday. 45 suspected cases were detected on the ship.

“There is no case in Luxor that showed symptoms of the disease. 100% of the 45 cases that were on the ship were asymptomatic. The index case of the Nile cruise ship was caused by an American tourist of Taiwanese origin’‘, said Egyptian Minister for Health, Hala Zayed.

Walid Mostafa is Director for Quarantine at Luxor Airport in southern Egypt.

“We have made a special plan to confront the coronavirus at Luxor Airport. We implement all procedures for quarantine at the airport, including means of transportation, which is the plane. In case of any infection, it will be transferred to a specialized hospital in Luxor. In addition to this, we provided the airport with an automatic sterilization car stationed at the airport”, Mostafa said.

On Sunday, Health Minister, Hala Zayed and other officials travelled to Luxor to follow up on quarantine procedures at the city’s airport. A statement from the government said this was part of Egypt’s response to the virus.

Egypt reported a first death due to the coronavirus in Africa on Sunday.