Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has extended the nationwide state of emergency by three months starting Tuesday, April 28.
The decision was published on Tuesday’s issue of the official Egyptian gazette.
This is the eleventh time the state of emergency has been renewed since it was first imposed on April 10, 2017 after terrorist attacks on two churches in Tanta and Alexandria that left approximately 45 people dead.
Egypt’s government says it is committed to the use of exceptional measures only to the extent that they maintain balance between the protection of public freedoms and the requirements of national security.
Under the state of emergency, the President has the right to restrict freedoms of assembly, movement, residency and the right to monitor messages of any kind (such as through newspapers, leaflets and other publications) as well as all means of advertising before their publication, confiscating them, closing places where they are printed, setting the dates for the opening and closing of public shops, and the evacuation or isolation of some areas.
According to the state of emergency, the armed forces and the police shall take the necessary measures to confront terrorism and its financing, maintain security throughout the country and protect public and private properties.
Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population confirmed on Monday the total number of COVID-19 deaths has now reached three hundred and thirty-seven nationwide, after announcing twenty deaths.
248 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed, bringing the country’s number of infected cases so far to 4,782.
