The Batel (Void) opposition campaign has extended greetings to every Egyptian family that imposed its free will on the Sisi regime that only cares for its interests.
The opposition campaign considered the decision of the Egyptian coup leader Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to close schools and universities for two weeks due to the spread of coronavirus over the country – a victory for the will of the Egyptian people. The campaign confirmed that the Egyptian people have succeeded to impose their will on the regime that had insisted for days on rejecting requests and appeals to close schools to protect students amid the spread of COVID-19 in Egypt.
The campaign said in a statement on Saturday evening that “Sisi finally announced closure of schools and universities in Egypt for two weeks aperiod of continued denial from the regime, represented by the Minister of Education, of presence of any intention to close schools, ignoring calls from millions of parents who saw that their children are vulnerable to the coronavirus infection.”
The Batel campaign extended “due greetings to every father and mother, and to every Egyptian family that have imposed their free will on a regime that cares only for its interests and does not respect the Egyptian people,” adding: “Our children are more important, and the lives of Egyptians are more important.”
The campaign called a few days ago on Egyptian parents not to allow their children to go to schools starting from 16 March as a precautionary procedure to protect them against COVID-19 infection.
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The Batel (Void) campaign on 11 March 2020 called on “every Egyptian father and mother to protect their children against infection with the coronavirus (COVID-19) by not allowing them to go to school as of next Saturday, 14 March, after it has become clear according to the experiences of countries that are facing spread of COVID-19, such as China, Iran and Italy, that It is necessary to take the threat of the spread of the coronavirus seriously and realistically,” the Egyptian opposition campaign said in its statement. The campaign then called on parents to “take the initiative and make your own decision to protect the health of your sons and daughters before it is too late”.
Accordingly, the Egyptian regime announced on 14 March that it would shut down all schools and universities to fight the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus as the country continues to register more cases.
Sisi said in a statement on Saturday that closures of schools and universities would start on Sunday and continue for two weeks.
Sisi also called for a 100 billion Egyptian pound ($6.38bn) fund to finance the state’s “comprehensive plan” for tackling the disease, the statement said.
The country’s health ministry registered 13 new cases on Friday, taking the total number of cases in Egypt to 93 with two deaths.
The Egyptian authorities on Friday quarantined a school in the Zamalek district of Cairo after a student tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ironically, the Egyptian police have arrested some Muslim Brotherhood members and accused them of circulating rumors about spread of coronavirus in Egypt.
The government-owned Akhbar El-Yom newspaper has recently reported that security services arrested two Muslim Brotherhood elements for circulation of rumors and false information about the widespread of coronavirus in Egypt. The authorities said the detainees claimed that the government has so far been unable to face the virus.
According to the government-owned newspaper, the two detainees also face charges of mocking the measures taken by the government to confront the virus with the aim of inciting the public opinion.
On 11 March, the Batel campaign said in a statement, “there is no time for political or economic calculations. The present time is the time to save the lives of our children, our future, and Egypt’s future,” the statement that was addressing the regime read.
A large proportion of Egypt’s confirmed cases had come from a River Nile cruise ship in the popular tourist destination of Luxor
Twenty-seven people of the registered cases have recovered and eight of them were released from a quarantine hospital, including six Egyptians and two foreigners, the health ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
Egypt took several measures to reassure travelers that it is safe to visit after the virus outbreak on the Nile ship, including testing hundreds of tourists and tourism workers for coronavirus, and sanitizing hotel facilities and cruise ships in Luxor and Aswan.
Sixty-three tourists on board the infected Nile ship travelled to their home countries on Tuesday and Wednesday after spending a period in quarantine and testing negative, the tourism and antiquities ministry said on Wednesday.
The government also decided to suspend events that include big gatherings such as religious festivals, concerts, exhibitions and concerts.
On Wednesday, the education ministry ordered schools to suspend activities like sports and music events, but insisted study would not be stopped, the state news agency MENA said.
In an apparent move to prevent public panic, security services detained three people over spreading false information about coronavirus on their Facebook account, MENA said.
