Egypt cancels New Year’s celebrations due to COVID-19

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The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has canceled New Year’s celebrations to avoid mass gatherings. The Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, stressed the need to ban all cultural and tourist activities or any New Year’s Eve celebrations to avoid mass gatherings. He also called for the strict application of the precautionary measures that were previously taken in the last period, with punitive measures taken against restaurants, cafes, and hotels that do not abide by the implementation of these measures. Madbouly’s decision came after a meeting during which ministers and officials discussed efforts to confront the coronavirus and ways to provide the vaccine.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities renewed its warnings to the Chamber of Tourism Establishments to commit to opening and closing tourist restaurants and cafes according to the Council of Ministers’ dates. The ministry indicated that nightclubs would remain closed until a decision is issued by the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Khaled al-Anani, in light of the state’s measures to control the spread of the coronavirus. Al-Anani explained that the ministry issued recommendations to tourist facilities to prevent gatherings on New Year’s Eve and said: “We do not want to disturb people, but the whole world is implementing measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.” The ministry had issued recommendations for tourism facilities by banning gatherings on New Year’s Eve. The ministry affirmed that weddings, parties, private events, and gatherings would continue to be prohibited in closed halls until a decision is made to reopen the halls.