Egypt police set up coronavirus checkpoints to enforce masks

Egyptians must wear masks when using public transport, or visiting government offices, malls and stores

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A view of a closed mosque in central Baghdad, Iraq. EPA

Police fanned out across Egypt on Saturday to enforce the obligatory use of surgical masks in public spaces as the country slowly reopens despite a spike in the daily number of Covid-19 infections.

Police in Cairo and a string of major cities set up checkpoints on major roads to look for offenders on the first day of implementing the rule on masks.

Offenders were fined 300 pounds on the spot as part of a stepped up drive by the government to get Egyptians to diligently observe preventing measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, which causes the deadly Covid-19 disease.

Under the new measures, Egyptians must wear masks when using public transport, while visiting government offices or inside malls and stores.
The Interior Ministry, which is in charge of police, said in a statement that taxi drivers would be held responsible for enforcing the masks rule on their passengers.

It also said that drivers and passengers of private vehicles were exempt from the mask rule, but not those in cars used by ride-hailing services like Uber.

The Health Ministry, meanwhile, reported on Saturday night the fourth consecutive record high of daily infections. It said 1,367 new Covid-19 cases were registered during the previous 24 hours. The latest figure takes to 23,449 the number of infections to date. The death toll stood at 913 as of Saturday night.

Egypt, the most populous Arab nation with 100 million people, has been seeking to strike a balance between protecting people from the coronavirus while preventing the economy from tanking.

A man wearing a face mask carries his son on the street in Cairo, Egypt May 30, 2020. Reuters

The government has repeatedly told Egyptians that, until a vaccine is found, they must learn to live with the pandemic while taking preventive measures like social distancing and hygienic practices.

Several of the country’s most powerful businessmen have warned that an economic meltdown could be more deadly than Covid-19, a view that critics saw as both insensitive and self-serving.

Already, the government has announced a massive stimulus to keep the economy afloat and asked the International Monetary Fund for multibillion dollar loans to shore up its finances.
It has decided to dock one percent of the gross salary of state employees for 12 months as a contribution toward the cost of fighting Covid-19.