Egypt’s cabinet on Thursday postponed all exams to after mid-year vacation due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The cabinet said this measure comes to protect “The health and safety of all workers in the education process including students, teaching staff, and teachers.”
The cabinet also approved a suggestion submitted by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Ministry of Education to remote distance learning starting January 2 until the end of the first semester 2020/2021.
Egypt’s Health Ministry on Wednesday confirmed 1,411 new coronavirus cases, bringing the country’s tally up to 136,644, ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed announced.
The total number of COVID-19-related deaths has now reached 7,576 nationwide, after the ministry announced 56 deaths.
And 411 patients were discharged from quarantine at isolation hospitals, raising Egypt’s total number of fully-recovered cases to 111,451.
Egypt has officially entered the second wave of the pandemic, after cases have risen steadily over the past month.
Government officials continue to urge the public to adhere to precautionary measures against the virus, and the Egyptian Cabinet has called on authorities to strictly enforce the country’s mask mandate, which applies to all public transportation and indoor public spaces.
Assistant Egyptian Health Minister Noha Assem said that Egypt is at the center of the second wave of coronavirus, stressing that citizens need to be cautious amid the rapid increase in the numbers of infections.
Assem said that public adherence to the precautionary measures will affect the fate of the infection curve. She stressed that everyone is responsible for his or her behavior and the people around them, especially if they are among vulnerable populations.
Several countries have imposed full lockdown measures following a second outbreak of the virus that began in October.
