Egypt highlights its efforts in ‘100 Days of the Fight Against COVID-19’ report

CAIRO - 7 June 2020: Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly received on Saturday the report on the ‘100 Days of the Fight Against COVID-19’ from the cabinet’s Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), which summarises the efforts exerted by the country to combat coronavirus since its outbreak in February.

The report tackled the government’s efforts in infection prevention and control, economic measures, social security measures, international cooperation, especially with countries most affected by the pandemic, as well as efforts exerted by the private sector and state agencies to support the state and medical teams.

Prime Minister Madbouly said that citizens’ health has always been a top priority in the government agenda, the cabinet said in a statement on Saturday.

He added that the government had been working on enhancing the services provided by the healthcare system nationwide even before the coronavirus outbreak.

Madbouly asserted that the outbreak came at a time when the government was “reaping the rewards of the economic reform program.”

He stressed that the government has worked since the beginning of the outbreak to put in place an effective prevention program and raise citizens’ awareness to reduce infection, in addition to economic and social measures that have been taken to alleviate the expected damage caused by the crisis.

Chairman of the IDSC Osama El-Gohary said that the ‘100 Days of the Fight Against COVID-19’ report documents the most important measures taken by the government to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the cabinet said in its Saturday statement.

With regard to infection prevention and control, the report highlighted government efforts like imposing a nighttime curfew, air travel suspension, shutting down places of worship and suspending study at schools and universities.

To prevent the spread of the virus, the government is also conducting coronavirus tests, contact tracing for the infected cases, isolation, and treatment, in addition to several preventive measures to implement social distancing, El-Gohary said.

The report also highlighted the economic measures taking by the government in order to create a balance between social distancing and protecting the economy from any future shocks that may result from the coronavirus crisis.

The economic measures include monetary and fiscal measures aimed at maintaining the country’s level of economic performance, measures to protect the Egyptian Stock Exchange and those working in it, in addition to supporting the tourism sector, which has been the hardest hit by the crisis.

With regard to social security, the report highlighted government efforts like reducing the number of private and public sector employees in workplaces, improving pensions, and including irregular labour in the social security net.

The report also highlighted the exchange of aid between Egypt and other countries, and the communication channels the country has opened to benefit from the experiences of other countries in combating the virus.

It also stressed that the government has worked since the beginning of the outbreak to repatriate nationals stranded abroad due to the outbreak, and making sure they are properly quarantined to prevent a further spread of the highly infectious disease.

The report also highlighted efforts exerted by private sector, religious institutions and state agencies in supporting vulnerable groups and medical teams through donating to the Tahya Masr fund.

To date, the country has recorded 31,115 positive cases and 1,166 fatalities.