Egypt’s Ministry of Health on Tuesday revised the quarantine period for stranded Egyptian returnees down to seven days, sources at Marsa Allam’s Quarantine Department said.
Those that test negative will only have to stay at hotels for seven days and then self-isolate at home for seven more days, while cases that test positive will be transferred to a hospital.
Cabinet Spokesperson Nader Saad said in April that Egyptian expatriates wishing to return must sign an avowal stating that upon arrival back to Egypt they would be quarantined in a place determined by the Health Ministry for 14 days.
Anyone refusing to sign the avowal will be barred from boarding a flight back to Egypt.
Returnees must stay in a hotel with their own expense at a reduced price (less than 50 percent) with medical services provided free of charge to them.
Statistics conducted on the number of Egyptians returning abroad to Marsa Alam International Airport since April to May 8 show that 28 flights arrived repatriating stranded citizens from over 30 countries upon orders from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
These planes carried a total of 4,800 Egyptian passengers on board, the sources said, housed in 11 hotels and tourist resorts in cooperation with the the Egyptian Hotels Association and the Health Ministry.
Six coronavirus cases were discovered among these passengers.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
