Corona Virus in Egypt

• No one will be able to get into a bank and post office branch from Wednesday the 1^st of December onward without proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test. Local Development Ministry spokesperson Khaled Qassem announced that the Madbouly government would extend its no-vax no-go policy to include banks and post offices from Wednesday 1^st of December.
   
• Members of the public will need to display proof that they’ve received at least one dose of a vaccine (either with a paper certificate or the Health Ministry’s digital covid passport) or a negative PCR test. Qassem did not say how recent PCR tests would need to be if they’re to be accepted.
   
• Qassem didn’t specify whether the rules would apply to all banks or only to state-owned institutions. It is also unclear how the government is planning on equipping bank and post office branches across the country with the tech necessary to scan QR codes or whether they would simply be looking for the green “vaccinated” logo in the top right corner of the app’s homepage.
   
• As per the Prime Minister's Decision No. 2750 of 2021, beginning from the 15th of November 2021, public sector employees will not be allowed to enter their workplace unless they provide evidence of vaccination or a negative PCR test on a weekly basis. Furthermore, as of the 1st of December, such obligation will also extend to include any member of the public seeking to enter a governmental building.
   
• Starting 1 June, Egypt will extend the opening hours for commercial venues amid the coronavirus pandemic, canceling a three-week decision to close these facilities at 9pm.
   
• The government said in a statement on Sunday that all retail stores and malls will be able to operate from 7am and will close at 11pm instead of 9pm. They are also allowed to close at 12am on Thursdays, Fridays and public holidays.
   
• Restaurants and cafes will be allowed to open from 5am to 1am.
   
• Madbouly said the government will apply fines on violating shops addressed by the decision. These shops will be immediately closed for two weeks and will be re-closed for a month if the violation is repeated.
   
• Delivery services from restaurants are allowed to operate 24 hours a day year-round, as before.
   
• Open-air funerals will be allowed outside of daily prayer times in mosques that are equipped with open-air facilities, the statement added.
   
• Weddings in closed halls remain prohibited. (01.06)
   
• Egypt's Ministry of Justice has granted judicial police the authority to collect fines for failing to wear a face mask or adhere to other measures to confront the spread of the coronavirus, as stipulated in a prime ministerial decision, according to media reports. (05.01)
   
• Individuals not wearing masks in public venues can get slapped with a EGP 50 fine starting from next Sunday, while restaurants and cafes that break the 50% capacity limit will face an immediate EGP 4,000 fine and a one-week closure. The government will begin collecting these fines starting from next Sunday, according to the statement. (29.12)
   
• The Higher Education Ministry is launching a UCAS-style platform for private universities for the coming Spring semester, after gaining approval by the Higher Education Ministry’s Supreme Council of Private Universities, according to a cabinet statement. The platform launch will be a pilot phase that includes a few private and nonprofit universities that receive a high volume of applications, an official told Enterprise.
   
• The platform will become mandatory for all universities starting from the Fall semester of the 2021-22 academic year, the source added.(29.12)
  
   
• According to coronavirus guidelines adopted by the education ministry, classrooms would be closed for 28 days in the case of more than one student testing positive for coronavirus in a period of two weeks. Also, a school would be closed for 28 days in case two or more classrooms in the school are closed due to coronavirus cases. A multi-school complex would also be shut down for 28 days in the case of closure of more than one school in the complex.Schools in a village or city can be closed on orders of the governorate in the event of quarantining in this village or city, and until the period of quarantine is over.
   
• The Egyptian Ministry of Education issued 30 health-related recommendations for schools to follow during the 2020-2021 academic year to protect students
  egyptindependent.com/egypts-education-ministry-sets-30-coronavirus-related-health-measures-ahead-of-academic-year/
   
• Adel Khattab, member of the Higher Education Ministry’s virus committee, said that children under the age of five will not be required to wear a facemask in class due to the potential effects on the respiratory system, but instead they should wear face shields. Students will also not be required to wear protective equipment during sports activities, he said

Tracking the virus - Health of Egypt Application:

• The Health Ministry has launched its Health of Egypt app for Android. The app provides users information on the nearest quarantine and medical facilities, tracks infected users’ locations and delivers notices to users approaching locations with suspected cases. It can also alert users if they are approaching a location where there was previously a covid-19 patient, according to a cabinet statement.
   
• More than 1 mn people are now using the Health Ministry’s covid-19 app. The app can be downloaded from the App store here and from the Google Play store here.

• Minister of Emigration Nabila Makram last week announced that Misr El Kheir Foundation (MEK) had agreed to bear the accommodation expenses of stranded Egyptians. (29.12)
   
• The emigration ministry announced the creation of a task force to repatriate Egyptians stranded abroad after several countries -- including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman -- decided to close their borders as part of precautionary measures to confront the new COVID-19 variant.

• Egyptian expatriates will be able to apply to renew their national IDs at diplomatic and consular missions abroad, the Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs and Egyptian Expatriates Yasser Mahmoud Hashem announced.
   
• Diplomatic missions will provide the civil status sector at the Ministry of Interior with forms for ID renewal through diplomatic bags, and once received the IDs will then be delivered to the expatriates.
   
• This move falls under the Foreign Ministry’s orders to the consular sector to mitigate the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic on Egyptian citizens abroad.

• Medical staff at public hospitals won’t be allowed to take vacation during the coming period in preparation for a potential third wave of covid-19, ministry sources told Masrawy.(06.04)
   
• Egypt's health minister has announced that non-hospitalised coronavirus patients across the country will be monitored at home even if they were not initially diagnosed by the ministry's system.
   
• Zayed said these cases had previously been only contacted via phone, but the new initiative aims to guarantee that if any of the home-isolating cases deteriorate, they do not reach hospitals in critical condition. (05.01)
  
   
• Egypt’s Ministry of Health has advised women to postpone pregnancy amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The ministry stated that the virus could cause blood clotting and, consequently, affects the placenta which feeds the baby. The virus could cause other symptoms to the pregnant woman, the statement added. The Population's Family Planning Sector at the ministry said that women’s immunity becomes lower during the pregnancy period, making them more vulnerable to the infection. The sector added that babies could be affected by the virus.
   
• A quarantine specialized hospital (QSH) is assigned for Covid 19 cases in each governorate (27 in total)
   
• Self-sterilizing ambulances dispatched to transport infected patients to QSHs.
   
• About 1k frontline healthcare workers will receive life insurance under policies worth EGP 2.5 mn. The policies are being bought by the Federation of Egyptian Industries. The Health Ministry will help determine who is eligible for coverage under the policies. The policies are intended for staff who work directly with covid-19 patients.
   
• Increase in the monthly bonuses of new doctors who graduated in the 2018/2019 academic year, and who have been working for a year at a university or Al-Azhar-affiliated hospital. The bonus will be five more times than the current one, which ranges from EGP 400 ($25.39) to EGP 700 ($44.43), to reach EGP 2,200 ($139.63) monthly, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said on Thursday. The minister added that 12,000 doctors will benefit from the bonus, with a total cost of EGP 316 million ($20.1 million).

• Health Minister Hala Zayed has said that the surge in COVID-19 infections has started to decline nationwide.
   
• She added that Egypt is also witnessing a decrease in occupancy rates in isolation hospitals.(08.06)
   
• The Health Ministry will be able to add 1k ICU beds and 500 ventilators to its emergency covid-19 response arsenal thanks to an additional EGP 260 bn from state coffers for the current fiscal year, according to a Planning Ministry statement. (24.05)
   
• 70.6% of the country’s ICU beds were occupied and some 42% of ventilators in isolation facilities were in use, Health Ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed said.
   
• The ministry is keeping a close eye on oxygen supplies and consumption levels to ensure that hospitals do not face any shortages, Megahed said. (18.05)
   
• Egypt's health ministry said on Tuesday(27.04) that over 45 percent of the capacity of hospitals treating coronavirus cases nationwide is unoccupied, denying reports on resorting to university hostels to deal with COVID-19 patients as the country is witnessing a third wave of the pandemic.
   
• A statement by the ministry on Tuesday stressed the availability of liquid medical oxygen supply, a lifeline for coronavirus patients who experience a drop in their levels of oxygen, saying it amounts to 2.2 million litres in all isolation hospitals.
   
• The ministry also said there is a "sufficient" stock of medicines and preventive supplies required at these hospitals. (28.04)
   
• The Health Ministry plans to launch mobile vaccination points in some neighborhoods, malls and metro stations, she said. The government will soon finish the mega clinics project in Cairo International Convention Centre to provide 10k-15k doses every day through 96 clinics, and similar projects will follow in Alexandria, Upper Egypt and the Nile Delta. We could soon have as many as 350 operational centers as part of a plan to accommodate 112k individuals per day.(28.04)
   
• Gov’t to set up new vaccine centers + extend operating hours to clear bottlenecks: Egypt should have 350 operational vaccination centers nationwide by the end of this week, up from the 169 right now, the minister said. The ministry is also extending vaccination centers’ operating times until 10 pm during Ramadan, Zayed added. The ministry had originally targeted having 339 facilities up and running at the beginning of last week.(14.04)
   
• Another 200 vaccination centers will be operational nationwide as of today, in addition to the 139 centers already in operation, Megahed told AdibForty additional centers will be opened in Cairo alone, Megahed said, adding that they had doubled the numbers of medical staff available in existing centers to accommodate the higher influx of patients. Some applicants will be automatically reassigned by the Health Ministry’s Information Center to the new vaccination centers in order to speed up the rollout, which has been bogged down by long waiting lists at some centers, Megahed added.(04.04)
   
• Egypt increases number of COVID-19 vaccination centers nationwide to 138
   
• According to an official statement, Zayed announced the increase of the centers to 138 from a previous 40 designated centres. (23.03)
   
• The Health Ministry will send medical teams to check oxygen supplies at hospitals and set up a new unit to monitor supplies nationwide, the ministry said in a statement yesterday (04.01).
   
• The Tahya Misr (Long Live Egypt) fund has provided Egypt with one million surgical masks, 60,000 N95 masks, 240 ventilators, 16,000 protective suits and 50,000 liters of disinfectants among other medical supplies to back the country amid the pandemic crisis, the fund stated yesterday in its annual report.(29.12)
   
• The Health Ministry is reopening 21 covid-19 isolation facilities to handle cases with medium to severe symptoms, according to Youm7. The head of Matrouh’s Al Negila Hospital — which was Egypt’s first isolation facility when the pandemic broke out said that the directive comes as the ministry is gearing up for an anticipated second wave of infections
   
• Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly inspected on Monday a new quarantine field hospital and drive-through testing site affiliated to the Ain Shams University aimed at coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. Minister of Higher Education Abdel Ghaffar said the hospital is located over 4,600 sqm and has a total of 200 beds which include intensive care and quarantine unit beds. There are also beds which have been set aside for healthcare workers. The hospital, which took 15 days to build, was established at a cost of EGP 28m, according to local media reports. (https://wwww.dailynewssegypt.com/2020/06/15/madbouly-inspects-ain-shams-universitys-new-covid-19-field-hospital/)
   
• Hospitals, including private-sector operators, will face price controls when treating covid-19 patients. The controls will apply to both medical treatment as well as to lower-level “isolation” services, according to a cabinet statement. The Ministry of Health submitted on 02.06. a price cap of 10,000 EGP / day for the treatment of Covid-19 in Egyptian hospitals. The Department of Health yesterday released a mandatory pricing system for all hospitals, including private operators who treat Covid 19 patients. The daily treatment costs, which include all tests, scans, medication and other fees, were determined as follows:
  • EGP 1,500-3,000 per day for lower-level isolation services intended for patients with mild symptoms;
  • EGP 5000-7000 per day for intensive care patients who do not need ventilation;
  • EGP 7,500 to 10,000 per day for intensive care patients who need ventilators.

• Egypt received 667k AstraZeneca jabs from Belgium and Germany on Friday as part of the Gavi / Covax program, announced acting Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar. (23.01)
   
• Children between 12-15 can now get vaccinated against covid-19: Egypt has authorized the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid vaccine for children aged 12-15, the Madbouly cabinet said in a statement yesterday 28th Nov.
   
• This comes only weeks after the authorities approved the Pfizer covid vaccine for children between 15 and 18 and jabs in schools started. Earlier this month the US Center for Disease Control officially recommended that 5-11-year-olds receive Pfizer’s pediatric covid jab.(29.11)
   
• Egypt received on Tuesday(10.08) a new shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine provided by Romania as part of a tripartite agreement between the two countries and AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Company.
   
• The shipment comprises 525,000 doses of the vaccine, according to a statement by the Egyptian health ministry.
   
• Egypt received also its first 260.6k batch of Johnson & Johnson vaccines through the African Union , the Health Minister Hala Zayed announced in a statement. The shots will be distributed among the 126 vaccination centers dedicated to travelers, where individuals can also obtain QR code-bearing vaccination certificates. 
   
• New shipments of Sinopharm, Sinovac, Sputnik, vaccines are expected this month as well, Health Minister Hala Zayed said ,as the country seeks to widen the rollout of the inoculation process.(10.08)
   
• The Health Ministry will open centers for those who want to get vaccinated for travel purposes in the coming days. Those wishing to travel have to show their passport, visa or airline ticket at the center to get the vaccine required by the country they're going to, and obtain a documented vaccination certificate.  (28.07)
   
• Egypt will receive its first shipment of Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, as well as a new batch of the Oxford / AstraZeneca jab in the coming days, Health Minister Hala Zayed.Egypt is also set to receive in the coming days raw materials to manufacture another 5 mn doses of home-made Sinovac, Zayed added.(14.07)
•  
• Egypt will manufacture four types of vaccines against the coronavirus in the last quarter of 2022, head of the Chamber of Pharmaceutical Industry in Egypt, Ahmed al-Ezaby, said.
   
• Ezaby explained that Egypt contracted with China to manufacture the Chinese vaccine “Sinovac” through the VACSERA company, and then contracted with two companies to produce the Russian vaccine. (14.07)
   
• The first batch of Made-in-Egypt Sinovac-Vacsera vaccine has been produced: Egypt’s Vacsera manufactured the first 650k doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine last week.(06/07)
   
• Minapharm is also set to locally produce some 40 mn doses of Russia’s Sputnik V jab per year, with the first to be rolled out in 3Q2021.
   
• Egypt plans to locally manufacture covid-19 vaccines for children, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said yesterday, according to Al Masry Al Youm. (06.07)
   
• Expect the first batch of Egypt-made Sinovac shots to be rolled into clinics nationwide as early as August, pending final-stage testing on the locally produced doses before their official distribution.(08.06)
   
• Egypt received on Friday another 500k-shot shipment of Sinopharm, China’s other covid-19 vaccine, the Health Ministry said. Egypt has so far received 3 mn doses of a 20 mn dose agreement, Zayed said. A new 1.9 mn-jab batch of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccines is also expected to be delivered through the Gavi / Covax program during the first week of June, while a shipment of 1 mn doses of China's Sinovac vaccine will arrive by the end of May or during the first week of June. (24.05)
   
• The Health Ministry plans to begin vaccinating prisoners in Egypt in the next phase of its inoculation drive, Minister Hala Zayed said
   
• This phase of the vaccination campaign will be rolled out in tandem with the ministry’s plan to vaccinate factory workers and other employees in industrial zones, in cooperation with the Federation of Egyptian Industries under an agreement signed yesterday. Sporting clubs will also act as vaccination hubs. (18.05)
   
• BioNTech — the company behind the mRNA technology powering the Pfizer vaccine — is in talks to set up plants in Africa in a bid to boost supply to the continent, Bloomberg reports, quoting CEO Ugur Sahin.
   
• Egypt, Senegal and South Africa are the only African countries with the capacities to produce vaccines,(18.05)
   
•  Our first shipment of the Sputnik V jab. Russia is expected to send an unspecified number of vaccine doses in the first batch we’re receiving under an agreement that will see Russia supplying Egypt with 10 mn doses of the vaccine before the end of May.(18.05)
   
• Russia will send 10 mn doses of its Sputnik V jab to Egypt after signing a contract recently with the Health Ministry, spokesperson Khaled Megahed told Youm7. Costs for importing the Russian vaccine have been paid up in full, Megahed said, without disclosing a specific timeline to when the vaccines will land in Egypt or over how many shipments. Egyptian regulators earlier this year authorized the use of the Russian vaccine, which has reported a 92% efficacy rate.
   
• We should also be getting our hands on 4 mn doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in 4Q2021, according to Megahed. Presidential health advisor Mohamed Awad Tag Eldin said last week that a shipment of the single-dose jab will be received through the African Union, but didn’t mention through which mechanism they would be delivered. (05.05)
   
• Minapharm will manufacture Sputnik V in Egypt. The news comes as a report suggests Egypt lags some frontier and emerging markets in vaccine rollout.(25.04)
   
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has directed the government to provide any additional funds that may be required to import COVID-19 vaccines, while establishing partnerships with various foreign entities to cooperate in producing the vaccines locally.
   
• This comes within the framework to achieve self-sufficiency, his spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.(20.04)
   
• Pharco's BioGeneric Pharma and Eva Pharma will manufacture China’s Sinovac vaccine alongside state-owned vaccine maker Vacsera, Souq Al Dawaa reported. The companies will locally manufacture 20-60 mn doses a year — enough to fully vaccinate between 10 and 30 mn people — after an agreement was reached with the Chinese firm this week. While it's not still known when the manufacturing will start, health ministry officials recently said it should be “within a few months.”(08.04)
   
• Two Factories to Manufacture COVID-19 Vaccines in Egypt
   
• Minister of Health Hala Zayed yesterday said that two factories were chosen to produce COVID-19 vaccines in Egypt, with a combined production capacity of 20-60 million doses annually, according to a cabinet statement. Chinese company Sinovac would begin manufacturing its vaccine in Egypt "soon," in cooperation with the Holding Company for Biological Products and Vaccines (VACSERA). (06.04)
   
• Egyptian Drug Authority (EDA) Chairman Tamer Essam announced on Thursday that the first 100-percent Egyptian-made ventilator had been produced. (06.04)
   
• The ministry started yesterday vaccinating employees of the Suez Canal Authority in Ismailia, according to a statement. This comes in parallel with rolling out doses for the staff of the national carrier Egypt Air as well as tourism workers, which the ministry expects to finish vaccinating before June. (06.04)
   
• Egypt will receive a second batch, composed of 300,000 doses, of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine on Thursday, raising the total number of doses that the country has received to 700,000 doses, an informed source from the health ministry told Al-Ahram. (17.03)
   
• A member of the Virology Committee at the Ministry of Higher Education Adel Khattab shot down rumors that side effects from the coronavirus vaccine are dangerous, assuring their safety and encouraging people follow instructions from specialists and the Ministry of Health. Side effects of the vaccine are no more serious than fatigue or a slight rise in temperatures, similar to those from the influenza vaccine, he assured, with antibodies produced after the second dose. (16.03)
   
• In an official statement, the health ministry said 1,141 citizens from eligible groups, which include the elderly and people with chronic diseases, have been administered the first shot of the vaccine on the first day of the campaign.
   
• The official website for registration to obtain the vaccines was officially launched 27th of Feb; More than 68,000 citizens have signed up on the website in the first 24 hours after the site was officially launched. (08.03)
   
• All foreign residents, refugees, and diplomats currently residing in Egypt will be able to register for a vaccine along with Egyptian citizens, in the same order of priority as citizens, Cabinet spokesperson Nader Saad confirmed (08.03)
   
• Egypt has purchased from Japanese company KalTech its new air purifier that is said to be effective against a number of viruses, including coronavirus, businessman Tamer Wageeh announced.
   
• The devices employs photocatalysis by using a titanium dioxide filter, which works to inactivate the virus. (17.02)
   
• Guide to COVID-19 vaccination in Egypt: What we need to know.
  http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/7/48/402519/Life--Style/Health/Guide-to-COVID-vaccination-in-Egypt-What-we-need-t.aspx
   
• Egyptian Health and Population Ministry on Sunday announced several potential side-effects from the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine:
  • Pain, redness, stiffness and itching at the area of the vaccination.
  • Increase in body temperature, headache.
  • Fatigue, nausea, and vomiting.
  • Diarrhea, cough, and allergies.
  • Muscle pain.
  • Joint pain and lethargy.
  • Muscle cramps
  
  The ministry added that these symptoms will generally not require any treatment and will pass on their own. (09.02)
  
   
•  Egypt’s Ministry of Health said in a statement, that 1,315 of the medical staff nationwide have received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine at 22 isolation and fever hospitals since last Monday 25^th of Jan. and up until Thursday 28th of Jan.
   
• The total of medical teams targeted to be vaccinated in chest, fever hospitals is 207,000 individuals, those including: doctors, nurses, administrators, and workers.(03.02)
   
• The Egyptian Health and Population Ministry on Sunday(24.01) officially launched a website allowing citizens wishing to receive COVID-19 vaccine to register.
   
• The website comes in conjunction with the start of the state’s campaign to vaccinate medical teams with the first dose of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.(26.01)
   
• Egypt's Ministry of Health yesterday signed a cooperation protocol with the state-run Tahya Misr (Long Live Egypt) fund and Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG), to support providing four million doses of the coronavirus vaccine, enough to inoculate two million citizens, according to a statement released by the ministry.
   
• Tamer Abdel-Fatah, executive director of the fund, said that it had received donations of about EGP 160 million ($10.2 million) to date from businesspeople and investors to help low-income groups obtain the COVID-19 vaccine.(12.01)

• Unvaccinated travelers to Egypt can now enter using a negative PCR, rapid antigen or rapid molecular ID Now test taken no more than 72 hours before arrival, the Health Ministry announced in a statement on Thursday (20.01). Unvaccinated travelers had previously been required to take a PCR test no more than 72 hours before arrival. The measures apply to travelers of all nationalities aged 12 and above.
   
• Travelers who arrive to tourist airports in the Red Sea, Luxor and Aswan without the correct covid test certificates will not be sent home but rather take a rapid test at the airport and isolate in their hotels if the result is positive.
   
• Travelers from South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, or Eswatini cannot enter using an ID Now rapid covid test. All passengers traveling from the group of seven countries must present proof of vaccination or a negative PCR or rapid antigen test taken within 72 hours of arrival.(23.01)
   
• Vaccinated individuals will now be able to get official, QR-code bearing vaccination certificates at 126 dedicated centers nationwide, the Health Ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed announced Certificates will cost EGP 100 for Egyptian citizens, and USD 10 for non-Egyptians. Hit the link for the list of centers. 
   
• The ministry is also working on an Egypt Health Passport app that will allow individuals to display their vaccination status on their mobile phones.(10.08)
   
• Saudi nationals who travel to Egypt and other countries on the government’s “red list” risk being slapped with a three-year travel ban as authorities step up efforts to curb the spread of covid-19, Saudi state news agency SPA reports. Saudi Arabia is still keeping its ban on travelling to or transiting at several countries including Egypt, Afghanistan, Argentina, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Lebanon, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkey, Vietnam and the UAE. Saudi Arabia has also recently classified Egypt as a “very high risk” travel destination and advised visitors against travel to Egypt. (28.07)
   
• Air Canada operated its first non-stop flight between Cairo and Montreal on Saturday19th June, a statement by the Canadian flag carrier said.(24.06)
   
• Egypt is among seven countries moving to Britain’s “red list” on 8 June, meaning travellers entering the UK from Egypt will be required to quarantine at their own expense for 10 days in a government designated hotel, the UK government announced in a statement. Only British or Irish nationals or those who have residence rights will be allowed to enter the UK from Egypt, EgyptAir said in a statement. Reuters also took note of the story.(06.06)
   
• EgyptAir called on Friday on its customers traveling to the UK starting Tuesday to book quarantine procedures in an approved hotel as well as COVID-19 tests before traveling through the link: https://quarantinehotelbookings.ctmportal.co.uk/.
   
• Red list  destinations  require a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine upon return to England starting June 8. (08.06)
   
• Travelers arriving in Egypt from countries where covid-19 variants have been identified will be administered rapid covid tests, Health Minister Hala Zayed said in a meeting Friday, according to a Health Ministry statement. The ID NOW rapid molecular tests should produce results within 15 minutes, the minister said. Travelers must still also show a negative PCR test before boarding their flight to Egypt.(18.05)
   
• EgyptAir Allows Fliers to Purchase Adjacent Seat at Reduced Price
   
• EgyptAir is launching a new service allowing economy customers traveling internationally from Cairo airport to book the seat next to them to ensure it stays empty. (13.04)
   
• Lufthansa operated this month the first flight from Frankfurt to Hurghada after an almost one-year hiatus, with a weekly flight planned on this route. Polish charter airline Enter Air also operated the first two flights to Sharm El Sheikh since border closures in March 2020. (30.03)
   
• Emirates is operating a second daily A380 flight (pdf) between Dubai and Cairo as of yesterday(07.03)due to high demand, signaling a pickup in demand for Egypt from Gulf and Asian tourists. Avion Express operated yesterday(07.03) also its first-ever flight between Lithuania and Sharm El Sheikh, as part of its plans to run weekly direct flights to the Red Sea destination for six weeks during March and April, according to a Cabinet statement(09.03).
   
•  Egypt’s popular tourist resorts Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh have been receiving more international flights recently after the country reopened its airspace to regular flights last summer.(09.03)
   
• Egypt’s Cairo International Airport has received the Airports Council International's (ACI) health accreditation certificate, becoming the sixth Egyptian airport to receive it due to the strict preventive measures implemented during the pandemic crisis. (09.02)
   
• Lufthansa Group airlines are introducing a requirement to wear a medical protective mask on their flights to and from Germany. The regulation comes into force on February 1. From that date, passengers will be required to wear either a surgical mask or an FFP2 mask or mask with the KN95/N95 standard during boarding, the flight and when leaving the aircraft. veryday masks are then no longer permitted.(26.01)
  https://www.lufthansagroup.com/en/newsroom/releases/lufthansa-group-adjusts-mask-requirement.html
   
• Wednesday(23.12) witnessed 25 inbound international flights, most of which were from Ukraine, Britain, Poland, Germany, Moldova, and Switzerland.
   
• The flights carried a total of 2500 tourists of various nationalities. (29.12)
   
• Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population has adopted new requirements regarding PCR tests for passengers entering the country through Hurghada International Airport.
   
• Sources at the airport indicated that the tougher requirements came after the airport received a number of complaints about fake results of coronavirus tests carried by tourists coming from countries affected by the virus
   
• The new measures will be implemented through the airport’s Quarantine Department.
   
• According to the department, the test results must be a print copy written in English and not exceed 72 hours from date and time of testing. Additionally, there must be a stamp and signature from the laboratory doctor in English, as well as a watermark or international barcode
   
• An official email from the laboratory containing the results and the passenger’s information may be accepted in lieu of a print copy of their results.
   
• The department warned that no handwritten reports will be accepted. (14.12)
   
• EgyptAir has urged its customers flying to Canada to download the ArriveCan mobile app and fill in the required data within 48 hours of their flight to receive an approval code, which will be necessary for them to board flights starting October 31.  Customers can also fill in the data online at https://arrivecan.cbsa-asfc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca, the company added
   

• EgyptAir, UAE health firm to collaborate on PCR tests: EgyptAir and Aster Hospitals will work together to provide EgyptAir customers travelling to Cairo from the UAE with PCR tests, Al Shorouk reports.
   

• Egyptian airports that can be entered without a PCR test prior to arrival are Taba, Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh and Marsa Alam, Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Manar announced.
   
• Passengers are still required to conduct the PCR test at these airports at US$30, he added.

• Egypt is now open to fully-vaccinated travellers: Fully vaccinated individuals will no longer have to present negative PCR test results to enter the country under new regulations (pdf) issued by the Health Ministry. Authorities consider people fully vaccinated against covid-19 starting two weeks after they receive their second jab of any vaccine that has been approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO).
   
• Allowed vaccine: Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna, Sinopharm, Sinovac, Sputnik V, Oxford / AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.
   
• Unvaccinated visitors will still need to show proof of a negative PCR test prior to boarding their flight to Egypt. Those arriving from countries where covid-19 variants have been identified, such as India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal and Latin America, will have to undergo rapid covid tests upon arrival. (24.06)
   
• Visa services outfit VFS Global is the latest to try to get in on the PCR test game, giving would-be travelers in Egypt, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and eight other countries the ability to book a PCR test online. The tests in Egypt cost EGP 3.4k (at a testing center or at-home service), with results on email within 36 hours. Travelers booking from the US get results in 48 hours through a partner lab.

• Uber Egypt is back to 80% of its pre-covid run rate and expects a full recovery in 2021, General Manager Ahmed Khalil said at the virtual RiseUp Summit, reports Wamda. The company closed down UberEats in Egypt and other countries at the start of the pandemic which Khalil explained was “part of a global push to focus our resources in our top markets” to weather the storm. Khalil did not mention whether UberEats would make its way back to Egypt post-covid. (14.12)
   
• Uber has seen demand for ride-hailing reach 65% of its pre-covid level, Egypt general manager Ahmed Khalil said in an interview with Masrawy. He said he didn’t expect any further recovery in the short term and that the company is assessing the services it will provide in the coming period before making any decisions about raising prices.
   
• Uber has launched  Connect, a delivery tech solution that enables users to send packages and request deliveries through the Uber app. Egypt will be the first country in the MENA region to experience the new product. 
   
• Uber Connect has been designed to ease senders' daily errands, while empowering drivers with new earning opportunities.  Uber Connect,is a step forward to accelerate efforts to keep the community safe, which has been Uber’s goal since the start of Covid-19.
   
• Public transportation  will be available from 4am until midnight. The Cairo metro is running on an amended schedule which you can find here in this cabinet statement.
   
• Transport Minister Kamel Al-Wazir has decided to operate 28 additional trains during peak hours to avoid large gatherings. He added that the trains will run outside of curfew hours to serve citizens, taking all necessary measures for passengers’ safety.

• A Russian delegation will visited Egypt on 27^th of July to assess the covid-19 situation in Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar said . This comes as a prelude to the return of Russian flights to the Red Sea resort towns on 9 August following a six-year hiatus.(26.07) 
   
• The government expects tourism to bring in between USD 6-9 bn this year as the global vaccine rollout helps to normalize international travel and visitors return to Egypt. Around 3.5 mn tourists visited the country during the first six months of the year, which is almost the same amount of people who visited Egypt in the whole of last year. (06.07)
   
• Egypt has completed the vaccination of workers in the tourism sector in South Sinai and the Red Sea, according to a statement by Red Sea Governor Amr Hanafi on Thursday. 3rd of  June.
   
• The vaccination included all workers in hotels, resorts, diving centers, tourist and safari villages, Minister of Health Hala Zayed said.
   
• She added that workers in shops, bazaars, cafes, restaurants and tourism offices were also vaccinated, as well as workers at airports and seaports in South Sinai and the Red Sea governorates.
   
• Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Enany said that Egypt had begun vaccinating the tourism staff in Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan, adding that the rollout is also open to foreign residents and tourists. (09.06)
   
• The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has approved new facilities for the tourism sector that aim to support it amid the ongoing pandemic, the CBE announced on Wednesday.
   
• The new facilities include raising the finance share that was introduced by banks to renew or replace hotels, marinas, and touristic transport fleets to 90 percent, up from 75 percent, of the total cost of the renewable operations.
   
• They also include increasing the share of the Credit Guarantee Company — as a credit risk guarantee — on the extended facilities to 70 percent, up from 60 percent, while the banks bear the remaining 30 percent. (24.05)
   
• The total amount of tourists who are expected to visit Egypt  by the end of 2021 could reach reach five to six million tourists, which represents 40 percent of the total amount of tourists that visited Egypt in 2019 prior to the pandemic.
   
• These projections come in the wake of the recent announcement of the return of direct flights from Russia to Egypt's Red Sea resorts in the near future, according to the Tourism and Aviation Committee of the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB). (05.05)
  
   
• Some 2 mn tourists have visited Egypt since commercial flights resumed last July, Tourism and Antiquities Minister Khaled El Anany told reporters. El Anany said last month that Egypt has been seeing between 270k and 290k tourist arrivals per month between December 2020 and February 2021, a significant increase from 90k when the government eased first covid-19 restrictions last summer and allowed charter flights to land in Red Sea tourist destinations. This suggests a quicker than average potential turnaround for the industry, which was battered in 2020 due to the pandemic. (23.03)
   
• Tourist rates could return to their pre-pandemic levels as early as Fall 2022, Tourism Minister Khaled El enany said. Egyptian Museum, should push for a faster recovery in Egypt than global estimates predict.(03.03)
   
• The CNN Network chose Egypt as one of the top places to go to in 2021 as soon as travel restrictions due to COVID-19 are lifted.
   
• Chosen as a Number five in the list, CNN said that “Visitors of Egypt are likely have a little more breathing room around the Giza Pyramids and the Great Sphinx in 2021. Nearby, the massive new Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is expected to finally open its doors this year” in reference to the upcoming inauguration of the Grand Egyptian Museum that is to take place later this year.(19.01)
   
• Dozens of hotel and tourist villages owners in Marsa Alam are now facing a crisis as the coronavirus pandemic has halted foreign tourist flights and local demand is minimal due to the high costs of domestic flights.
   
• The Marsa Alam Tourism Investors Association reported that 95 percent of the city’s hotels have shut down, with only four out of 72 hotels and tourist villages are currently operating.(19.01)
   
• Egypt is among the 200 major popular destinations that have obtained the Safe Travels stamp in 2020, a recent report by the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) showed.
   
• The WTTC launched its first-ever global safety and hygiene mark -- the Safe Travels stamp -- in May to restore traveler confidence and revive the heavily-hit tourism sector globally.
   
• The WTTC granted Egypt the stamp in June over its precautionary measures and hygiene protocols applied in hotels and resorts nationwide, aiming for the resumption of tourism, a key sector in Egypt. (29.12)
   
• In the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Egypt’s Giza Plateau development project is showing no signs of slowing. The country is pushing forward to improve the area within a number of sectors, including tourism, transportation, and real estate.
   
• The state-backed project aims to develop the area and restore it to its original splendor, as it is one of if not the most important archaeological sites in the country(04.11) https://egyptindependent.com/photos-giza-plateau-massive-development-cable-car-electric-transportation-and-heliport/
   
• The ministry listed a set of precautionary measures that must be followed once sites reopen, including a 50 percent occupancy limit for any "cultural tourism" activities and for tourist buses.
   
• The maximum number of visitors on site is limited to 200 visitors per hour at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, and 100 visitors per hour for any other museums.
   
• A maximum of 10 to 15 visitors will be allowed inside pyramids or cemeteries.
   
• Archaeological sites and museums should also be notified 48 hours before university and school trips, with a maximum of 15 people per the trip and with no more than five trips daily.

• Entering Germany with one dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine is not permitted anymore, also visa applications with proof of one dose Johnson & Johnson can not be accepted. Travelers with a valid visa and one dose of Johnson are not allowed to enter Germany, if there is no exception for them .For complete protection, a second dose of the vaccine is required. If the first dose  Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the second dose must be either BioNTech or Moderna.
  Fot more information: kairo.diplo.de
   

• From June 25, 2021, fully vaccinated people travelling from Egypt to Germany will be able to enter Germany under certain conditions, only people who have been vaccinated with one of the vaccines listed on the website of the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) https://www.pei.de/impfstoffe/covid-19  can enter the country. They can only travel at least after 14 days after the second dose.
  Also an online registration before entering Germany should be done on the following  website www.einreiseanmeldung
  For more information, please visit the website of the German Embassy: www.kairo.diplo.de

• Paul Ehrlich Institut (Germany) approved vaccines :
  https://www.pei.de/EN/medicinal-products/vaccines-human/covid-19/covid-19-node.html;jsessionid=4ABD8303C0D4833C1C7E7B0824521BA8.intranet221

Faced with an increasingly complex Covid-19 situation, the German government and federal states are implementing new regulations regarding entering respective destinations. Even more, in particular federal states people arriving from risk areas (be it inside or outside Germany) will not be allowed to stay in a hotel/hostel without negative Covid-19 results (not older than 48 hours).

Therefore, travelers to Germany should note:

People who have German residence permit coming from abroad should:

• Present negative test not older than 48 hours (in this case isolation can be avoided) or
• Go through 10 days of self-isolation (or until negative test results are available, up to 5 days). During self-isolation leaving the flat and receiving visitors is forbidden;
• Those who come from risk area must also register online before entering Germany on the following  website www.einreiseanmeldung (this is instead of previous filling in forms).
• Tests at the airport are free of charge. If a particular airport does not provide this opportunity one should call 116 or 117 to find out where to make a test. Responsible health departments can be found here.

For Foreigners

• It is generally possible for trade fair participants from abroad to enter Germany especially if their travel is said to be urgent (considering they possess valid visa, when applicable, confirmation from the trade fair organizer that they are participating in the trade fair, ticket to the trade fair and also an appointment for a business meeting with at least one exhibitor at the trade fair);
• No travel restrictions apply for travelers from EU member states and from countries which are not considered to be risky (currently: Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, Uruguay);
• Quarantine regulations are set by the individual federal states if additional restrictions are necessary;
• If a traveler from a risk area provides negative Covid-19 test, he/she will be exempted from the quarantine. Note: before traveling he/she should check quarantine and testing obligations of entering a federal state.
• From 08.11.2020, new quarantine rules shall apply in the German states:
  • 10-day quarantine regulation for everybody entering the country from risk areas
  • Exceptions for trade fair participants: business travelers are excluded from the general quarantine obligation, if the entry is verifiably job-related, absolutely necessary and cannot be postponed. However, negative test results are obligatory. The test may not be performed earlier than 48 hours before entry or immediately upon entry.
     
• Skilled workers (researchers, scientists, professional athletes, IT-specialists, self-employed, etc.) can enter Germany if they provide credible evidence (contract, explanation of urgent travel, absolute necessity of the travel (the form can be downloaded here), no possibility of online job).

Additionally:

Regulations in the federal states
Please find below the latest regulations for entering Germany:
https://lufthansa.travel-regulations.com/route-info?origin=CAI&destination=FRA&search-enabled=true
https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/de/quarantaene-einreise/2371468
https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/entry-into-germany#quarantine-regulations

Please find out about the local regulations on the website of the federal state to which you want to travel:

Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland- Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia .

• The electricity bills will rise by as much as a third in July — but subsidies won’t be fully lifted for another five years: Average rates for electricity sold to residential consumers will increase between 16-30% from 1 July as the government has fully lifted subsidies on the uppermost consumption bracket.
   
• Electricity Ministry spokesman Ayman Hamza blanketed the airwaves yesterday (09.06) to explain the increase in electricity prices that come into effect as of 1 July.
   
• Subsidies are also continuing until 2025: A plan that would have seen subsidies entirely wiped out by July 2022 is being stretched out: Subsidies will now taper off through July 2025 to help consumers better cope with the impact of the covid-19 pandemic. When the government had first mapped out its planned elimination of electricity subsidies in 2014, the plan had been to lift subsidies entirely in 2019 but extended the timeline under orders from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Electricity prices increased by at least 15% in July 2019 and by an average of 26% in 2018.
   
• The gradual lifting of subsidies allows the ministry to reroute these resources to improve infrastructure.
   
• The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) is pushing by up to 40 days the window for companies to submit bids in the tender for the construction of Egypt’s electricity interconnection project with Saudi Arabia due to the covid-19 pandemic, reports the local press. An initial tender was scrapped after the electric line plan was changed due to Saudi Arabia’s addition of its futuristic city project, Neom.
   
• EETC postpones Egyptian-Saudi electric tender due to covid-19

• Gas exports took a hit from covid, but demand is now recovering: Egypt’s gas exports collapsed last year as lockdowns across the world put pressure on demand and sent prices spiraling. The country completed only a couple of shipments between March and October as the outbreak disrupted the market. “Starting from October 2020 until now, we have already booked all our volumes to be exported from the Idku plant up till the end of March,” El Molla told the Dubai-based consultancy.
   
• Should Egypt get both the Damietta and Idku facilities back to full capacity, the country would become one of the 10 largest exporters of LNG in the world, according to Bloomberg data.(03.02)
   
• Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Tarek el-Molla, signed  nine new agreements to search for oil and natural gas in the eastern and western regions of the Mediterranean Sea and the regional waters of the Red Sea.
   
• The minister also explained that the nine new agreements are part of a group of 12 agreements that the ministry brokered during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. The remaining three agreements are still under negotiation.(19.01)
   
• Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) has announced that investment in natural gas projects across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region will increase by 2024 despite the pandemic, which led to a decline in fuel demand, according to media reports.
   
• APICORP said that gas projects planned or currently under development in MENA will require an investment value of about $211 billion by 2024.
   
• El-Molla previously said that 11.2 million housing units had so far been connected to natural gas as of the end of the previous fiscal year. +
   
• Reducing the price of natural gas for industry at $ 4.5 per million thermal units.
   
• Reducing the electricity prices for the industry for the high, medium and high voltage by 10 piasters per kilowatt hour, not to increase the electricity prices for a period of 3-5 years to come.
   
• Electricity price cuts could cost around EGP 6 billion.
   
• Reducing the selling price of a liter of gasoline of all types 0.25% EGP.
   
• The government slashed natural gas prices for many many industries in what translated into a 25% cut for cement companies and 18% cut for metallurgy and ceramic manufacturers; electricity prices for factories also fell. The lower electricity prices alone will cost state coffers an estimated EGP 6 bn.
   
• The Oil Ministry will stop sending meter readers for the duration of the crisis. Instead, it is asking citizens to record their consumption online or by calling the call center (1122) and to pay via electronic channels. (Follow the link to record your gas consumption online https://www.petrotrade.com.eg/web/enq.html)

Oil Prices in Egypt:

• Egypt’s Fuel Automatic Pricing Committee increased the prices of fuel in the local market for the second time this year by 25 piastres per litre, the Ministry of Petroleum announced on Friday(23.07). 
   
• The new prices are EGP 6.75 for 80 octane gasoline, EGP 8 for 92 octane gasoline, and EGP 9 for 95 octane gasoline. 
   
• The price of industrial-use Mazut remains at EGP 3,900 per ton and diesel fuel at EGP 6.75 per litre. 
   
• The petroleum ministry stated on that the decision was made in light of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on a global level. (28.07)

• Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector was able to achieve a growth rate of 15.2 percent during fiscal year of 2019/2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic.
   
• The number of mobile subscribers in Egypt rose 3.2% y-o-y to hit 96.42 mn by the end of March, according to a CIT Ministry report (pdf). ADSL subscribers reached 7.53 mn by the end of March, marking 10.4% growth from the same month last year, while the number of mobile internet users rose 11.23% y-o-y to reach 39 mn subscribers.
   
• Digital healthcare platform Altibbi has received some 20k calls a day through its covid-19 hotline launched in May, the company said in a statement (pdf) yesterday. Launched through a PPP with the Supreme Council of Universities, the number has connected Egyptians to 1.1k doctors who have answered enquiries about the covid-19 outbreak.
   
• The Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FECC) launched on Monday the Digital Future Initiative, which aims to enable Egyptian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to keep pace with digital transformation.
  
  The initiative, launched in collaboration with Microsoft and Fiber Misr Systems, is the first of its kind in providing such professional support to the private sector, especially to SMEs.(http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/374928/Business/Economy/New-initiative-launched-to-encourage-Egyptian-SMEs.aspx)
   
• Vodafone to Raise Reception Efficiency near Isolation Hospitals. Vodafone Egypt has directed specialized technical support engineers to raise reception efficiency near isolation hospitals, in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA), the company stated on Tuesday (14.04). The decision came under the company’s comprehensive plan to back Egypt in its fight against the coronavirus pandemic, said Vodafone Egypt External Affairs and Legal Director Ayman Essam.
   
• Telecom Egypt is paying for 1 mn online medical consultations for Egyptians in collaboration with digital healthcare platform Altibbi. Patients can use the Altibbi website or app to communicate with a doctor, and a hotline (16445) has been set up for people unable to use the internet. (Follow the link of Altibbi website https://www.altibbi.com/)
   
• Since the beginning of the epidemic there has been a sharp increase in the usage of communication services, social networks and online entertainment programs. The comparison between telecom service indicators in the second week of April and those in the second week of March has indicated the following usage rates:
  
  Voice calls:
  An increase in international voice calls by 15%.
  An increase in local voice calls by 3%.؜
  
  Internet:
  An increase in home internet usage by 87%.
  An increase in mobile internet usage by 18%.
   
•  Peak time: The number of peak hours for the usage of Internet services and applications doubled to 15 hours per day, that is, from 12 pm to 3 am during the second week of April compared to only 7 hours during the second week of March.

The significant increase in the usage of Internet applications and the increased rates of their usage, can be summed up as follows:

• Tik Tok application (the destination for short-form videos that is preferred by mobile users): the rate of Tik Tok usage increased by 194%.
   
• Games: the rate of online game applications usage on the Internet increased by 96%.
   
• Netflix (the global platform for watching movies): The rate of its usage increased by 69%.
   
• Youtube (an online platform for free video-sharing and watching): The rate of Youtube usage increased by 41%.
   
• Shahid (an Arabic platform that provides VOD service that offers the best documentaries, movies and series in the Middle East region): The application usage increased by 40%.
   
• Facebook: Its usage rate increased by 151%.
   
• Instagram: Its usage rate increased by 59%.
   
• WhatsApp: Its usage rate increased by 34%.
   
• An increase in the percentage of Web Browsing by 131%. In addition, the rate of browsing the educational sites of the Ministry of Education and Technical Education, and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research increased to reach 376.4% in the second week of April compared to the browsing rate in the second week of March.

• The Egyptian state aims to achieve self-sufficiency in sugar by 2022, according to Ahmed Youssef, Vice President of the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC). (01.06)
   
• Egypt has sufficient sugar reserves to last for 5.5 months, Supply and Internal Trade Minister Ali Moselhy said in a phone call to a local television channel.
   
• According to the minister, oil reserves are sufficient for 4.9 months, wheat reserves are sufficient for six months, fresh meat reserves are sufficient for two years and frozen meat reserves are sufficient for two months. (24.05)
   
• The Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea issued a decree to ban the exports of whole and split fava beans for a period of three months.
   
• Gamea said that the decision to stop the export of beans was issued after coordination with the Minister of Supply and Internal Trade. It falls under the state’s plans to confront the repercussions of the spread of coronavirus and to provide citizen needs, especially basic commodities, in light of preparations for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
   
• The decree has gone into effect since the start of April.(06.04)
   
• Egypt's General Authority for Supply and Commodities (GASC) has signed contracts to import 360,000 tons of wheat from Romania.
   
• According to a GASC statement, the move is part of the authority's efforts to maintain the country's strategic reserve of five months' of wheat.
   
• Meanhile Egypt   increased the area cultivated with wheat in the country to 3.42 million feddans (3.55 million acres) during the current 2021 season. (16.03)

• Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea announced Sunday(11.07) that trade exchange between Egypt and Iraq has moved on positively despite the coronavirus pandemic, with the the total volume of trade exchange between Egypt and Iraq amounting to US$747.6 million last year, compared to $551.3 million in 2019 – an increase of 36 percent.
   
• The value of Egyptian exports to Iraq amounted to $421.7 million last year compared to $411.4 million in 2019, an increase of three percent. (14.07)
   
• Egyptian fruit and vegetable exports increased 15% in 1H2021 to more than 4 mn tonnes compared to 3.47 mn tonnes in the same period last year, according to Agriculture Ministry figures. (06.07)
   
• Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Egypt’s non-petroleum exports increased by 11 percent during the first 4 months of 2021, Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea said in a statement on Wednesday 26th May.
   
• During the first quarter of 2021, non-petroleum exports reached $9.9 billion, compared to $8.8 billion during the same period in 2020.
   
• Egypt’s exports fell slightly by 1 percent in 2020 to reach $25.2 billion, down from $25.6 billion in 2019, according to the ministry’s previous statements.
   
• The medical, handicraft, ready-made garment, leather, and engineering goods industries are the major sectors that witnessed an increase in export value during that period, the statement said, quoting the Head of Egypt's General Organization for Export & Import Control Ismail Gaber,.
   
• Gaber noted that the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy and Malta are the major markets for Egyptian exports. (01.06)
   
• Egyptian Furniture Exports Drop 10% in 2020    
   
• Egyptian furniture exports dropped 10 percent year on year in 2020 to $244 million, the furniture export council said. (20.04)
   
• US agricultural exports to Egypt -- led by soybeans, grains, dairy and tree nuts -- jumped 23 percent to nearly $2 billion in 2020, despite the pandemic crisis, US Ambassador to Cairo Jonathan Raphael Cohen said at an online symposium organized by Egypt's Chamber of Commerce.Egyptian agricultural exports to the US similarly increased 22 percent last year to $220 million, he added.(24.02)
   
• Food exports have grown 1% y-o-y, reaching USD 3.2 bn in 2020, according to the Food Export Council. Arab countries accounted for 54% of Egypt’s food exports last year, while food products headed for the EU accounted for 14% of our export market.(12.01)
   
• Engineering industry exports increased by 6 percent during the first five months of the fiscal year 2020/2021, according to the Engineering Export Council of Egypt (EECE).
   
• The council said that the sector's exports during the July-November period recorded $1.11 billion, compared with $1.05 billion during the same period of the 2019/2020 fiscal year.
   
• The council added that engineering exports witnessed a marked rise in November, recording $229.6 million, compared with about $187.3 million in the same month last year. (05.01)
   
• The value of Egyptian exports to the UAE increased by 66.6 percent to $2.4 billion during the first nine months of 2020, compared with $1.4 billion during the same period of 2019, according to Egypt's state statistics body CAPMAS.
   
• Minister of Trade and Industry Nevine Gamea has said that Egyptian exports to Japan witnessed a 75 percent year-on-year increase to reach $176 million during the first five months of 2020, in comparison with $100 million during the same period last year.
   
• The value of Japanese exports to Egypt increased 18 percent to reach $443 million during the same period, compared year on year with $375 million.
   
• Egypt’s total imports declined by 13.9% on annual basis during July- May 2019/20 to record USD 65.2 bn, down from USD 75.7 bn a year earlier.
   
• The government wants to enlarge the area cultivated with olives by 40,000 feddans as it is now 54,000 feddans and continue growing 100 million olive trees. That is in addition to expanding greenhouse farming like the 100,000 Greenhouse Project established by the Egyptian Armed Forces, and organic agriculture.https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/3/90350/Egypt-targets-increasing-agricultural-exports-by-entering-new-markets
   

• The Export Subsidy Fund doled out nearly EGP 3 bn in overdue export subsidies in April and May, bringing the total amount paid out in FY2019-2020 to EGP 5.2 bn, cabinet said in a statement.

• A temporary waiver of the chambers’ and the Egyptian Embassy stamp was agreed upon according to (letter No.1481 of March 18,2020). A confirmation by the importer that the documents submitted are genuine and a declaration by the exporter that the legalized documents have to be submitted after the crisis are sufficient.
   
• For more information about the decree please click here

• Net foreign direct investment is expected to rebound next fiscal year to a near pre-pandemic level, Planning Minister Hala El Said told the Senate yesterday, saying she expects Egypt to land some USD 7 bn worth in FY2021-2022, just ahead of the USD 6.8 bn we are on track to land this fiscal year (pdf). (31.05)
   
• The total of investments in Egypt’s free zones recorded $13.4 billion during the first four months of 2021 (from January through till April) over nine public free zones and 205 private ones, with an occupancy rate of 85 percent, according to the Head of the General Authority of Free Zones and Investment (GAFI) Mohamed Abdel-Wahab. (01.06)
   
• The state privatization program could be making a comeback in the coming months after Public Enterprises Minister Hisham Tawfik told Bloomberg over the weekend that the government has earmarked five companies to be offered to investors. Improving market conditions and increased foreign appetite for Egyptian equities has prompted the government to revisit its plans to sell stakes in state-owned companies on the EGX, Tawfik said.
   
• Tawfik declined to provide further details, saying only that he had held a ministerial committee to discuss the planned sales.
   
• The privatization program has been on ice since the pandemic first hit global markets and the Egyptian economy in March. (22.12)
   
• Egyptian Planning Minister Hala Al-Saeed held a virtual meeting with representatives of 70 French companies to discuss the prospects and opportunities available in the Egyptian economy in the post-pandemic era.Al-Saeed said that Egypt has opened the doors for various French companies to start making investments and to make use of the enormous resources in the country, including raw materials in various sectors such as agriculture and chemicals.There are currently more than 160 French companies operating in Egypt
   
• Egypt on track to be only country in EBRD’s footprint to grow this year, investor sees economy expanding at a 5% clip next year. Covid-19 pushed up unemployment and forced many family businesses to close at least temporarily, but Egypt’s economy is still on track to grow at a 2% clip in 2020 and rebound to 5% growth next year.
  
   

Measures introduced by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI):

• GAFI has recently approved 30 new projects in 6th of October carried out by CPC Egypt for Industrial Development. (19.07)
   
• Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Tarek Amer said on Sunday that the CBE is considering engaging the contracting sector in the CBE’s initiative to extend an EGP 100 billion facility to support the industry and agriculture sectors with a decreasing interest rate of 8 percent. Amer noted that he seeks expanding access to the initiative to contain COVID-19’s impacts over the manufacturing, agriculture, and contracting sectors. He added that the contracting sector is among the important sectors of the Egyptian economy that should be supported
   
• Supply Ministry pushes legislation to simplify commercial registry:
  • New businesses could soon be registered under one roof under the newly drafted Unified Economic Operators Registry Act, according to a statement carried by state news agency MENA. This bill would merge the five existing registries — the commercial, industrial and commercial agents and mediators registries and the import and export records — into a single register administered by the Supply Ministry’s Internal Trade Development Authority (ITDA), which would take responsibility for registering all new businesses. The legislation will make its way to cabinet within a few days, the statement notes.
  • This is good because currently, all types of companies need to be listed in a nationwide commercial registry database and state the names of their active owners and activities as a first step in the set up process. They then have to list their names under separate databases recording the nation’s manufacturers, importers, exporters, or intermediaries depending on the activities specified in commercial records. This makes for a tedious exercise involving several different government agencies. It also requires them to have in hand a lot of documentation to access any type of government service.
     
• As of Tuesday, April 21, the investor, or whoever acting on his/her behalf, could reserve an appointment on GAFI website in order to receive the services provided at ISCs. Follow the link and sign in or register and choose the service needed, the ISC branch, the day and time you would like to come to the branch, then confirm the reservation:
  • Click http://appointment.gafi.gov.eg/#/app/login
  • The website will send you an e-mail, in which the reservation details and code are included.
  • Head to GAFI, upon preparing the documents required, 15 minutes prior to the service time in order to measure your body temperature.
  • Head to the queue machine, insert the reservation code, and print the service ticket.
  • Head to the service window at the ISC.
     
• On 18th March 2020, Egypt's General Authority for Investment and Free Zones ("GAFI") issued Decree No. 160, which temporarily allows the virtual attendance of board of directors/managers, ordinary, and extraordinary general assembly meetings.
  • The decree also allows industrial projects to sell their stocks, including materials, production supplies and accessories, to the domestic market at a level of 20% over six months on condition of being accredited by the head of the free zone. If the selling percentage exceeds 20 percent, the project owner will have to gain the acceptance of the free zones sector’s head.
  • The decree also extends the free zones projects’ claim period for raising financial insurances for six months, giving them a six-month time limit to renew insurance policies.
  • The decree extends the limit time as well of submitting projects’ financial statements, for an additional three months, allowing enterprises to submit an initial copy of those statements within the three months’ time limit.
  • It also provides for procedures that ease the projects' work, including entering and exiting of equipment, machines, and all required supplies, in addition to renewing expired project time limits for six months to reconcile their positions.
     

Mega Projects in Egypt:

• The Dabaa nuclear plant will likely be finished two years later than planned due to disruption caused by the covid-19 pandemic, the spokesperson for Egypt’s nuclear regulator said. Work on the 4.8 GW facility will likely now finish in 2030 rather than in FY2028-2029, Egyptian Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Authority spokesperson Karim Al Adham said. (14.07)
   
• The Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Al-Tayeb Abbas announced that 98 percent of construction work at the engineering facilities of the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) has been completed.
   
•  Abbas said that several artifacts will be placed inside the display cabinets of the halls of King Tutankhamun within the next few days.
   
• Several other areas in the museum have been finalized as well, he added, even in spite of the coronavirus pandemic causing progress to decline. (17.02)
   
• Infrastructure projects will continue to receive government support. The Egyptian government will proceed with a high level of investment in infrastructure to help to drive a post-Covid economic recovery, with a stronger focus on large projects, especially transport and housing. The authorities hope that infrastructure development will help to support jobs, strengthen aggregate demand and improve overall operating conditions for private-sector business. The government will also focus on developing Sinai, and other deprived areas, by improving water and rail infrastructure (12.01)

Data on investments / investment targets as announced by the Egyptian government:

• Foreign Investment in T-Bills and Bonds decreased by 50% (from $28 to $14 billion)
   
• State budget revenues are expected to decrease by 25% in FY20-21
   
• Growth for 3Q FY1 9-20 expected to fall to 4.5%; 4Q expected to hit 1%.
   
• Growth for FY20-21 expected at 4.2% if the pandemic is contained by June 2020, and may reach 3% if the pandemic uncontained.

The draft of the budget for FY 2020/2021 includes the following targets:

• Egypt has allocated EGP 36.7 billion in the FY 2020/2021 budget for the implementation of 691 green projects, Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala El-Said said on Saturday (17/10)It is hoped 30 percent of investments will be allocated for green projects in the coming FY 2021/2022 budget.
   
• Egypt Targets 33% YoY Increase in Public Investment in FY2020/21  
   
• This is to stimulate economic activity, raise Egyptian's standard of living and to improve the state's measures to counter the emerging coronavirus, said Minister of Planing Hala Elsaeed.

Investment targets according to sectors:

1. Health sector targets 69% increase
2. Higher education sector targets 104% increase
3. Education sector targets 35% increase
4. Transportation sector targets 84 % increase
5. EGP 3.67 bn in green projects

Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation has managed to secure agreements worth $7.3 billion in 2020 to cover Egypt’s priority sectors, $4.5 billion of which are for financing sovereign projects and $2.7 billion are for financing the private sector. Moreover, to dedicate development financing towards Goal 3 for good health and wellbeing in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ministry managed to sign agreements worth a total of $477 million.

• Egypt’s Ministry of Finance has disbursed a total of EGP 25.5 billion from exporters arrears since the onset of the pandemic in Egypt in March 2020 through six initiatives aimed to support the export sector, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced on Thursday.
   
• Such an effort comes in line with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi's directives to back the export sector, through which providing cash liquidity for the sector amid the severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic,' said Maait (05.05)
   
• Vodafone Egypt targeted the sectors most affected by the coronavirus crisis and those most influential in the Egyptian economy with its participation at the Cairo ICT fair. Vodafone Egypt has made young and small business owners a top priority this year, and has provided each group with a set of services that support them in implementing the digital transformation process and in resilience in the face of the various challenges they face. Among the services Vodafone Egypt provides is the V-Hub platform, which is designed to help SMEs face the challenges they meet in managing their work, offering them technological solutions based on their needs. Their new initiative is  year the Begin platform.
   
• On July 12th, Planning Minister Hala El-Said announced a Government Consumer Spending Initiative by the government to stimulate private consumption by offering discount rates of up to 25% for citizens buying durable goods and food commodities.
  Goal:
  • The goal of the initiative is to stimulate EGP 125 bn worth of consumer spending from the end of July until January 2021 (equivalent to around 3% of private consumption as per FY 2018/19 figures).
  • Though originally planned to run for 3 months, the initiative could run further into 2021 if proven to be successful.
  • It will initially cover durable goods and food items.
  • Stimulating consumption will help partly mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 on GDP.
  • The initiative also aims at increasing the production rate
    at factories and encouraging financial inclusion.
  How:
  • The initiative officially started on July 26th 2020.
  • Consumers can buy durable goods including electronics, appliances, clothes, leather products and furniture through a website set up by the government or buy the
    same products on sale in stores.
  • There is no limit to the number of discounted goods an individual can buy.
  • Agreeing with manufacturers and merchants to offer 15- 25% discount on consumer goods for all citizens, especially durable goods and food commodities.
  • As of July 26th, almost 1,200 manufacturers joined the initiative and agreed to offer an average of 20% discounts on about 4,200 products.
  • The government will spend more than EGP 12 bn to subsidize an extra 10% discount for ration card holders who will get an extra EGP 200 per family member on a ration card with a maximum of EGP 1,000 per family in the program.
  • Some banks and finance companies joined the initiative and will provide low-interest loans for consumers who want to buy goods covered by the initiative. This will also help increase financial inclusion in Egypt.
     
• Maait said that EGP 6 billion, which constitutes 30 percent of exporter firms' arrears, were disbursed from the state’s budget for the EDF in FY2019/2020 to fulfil dues for 1,677 companies and provide the needed liquidity for them amid the COVID-19 crisis. (21.07)
   
• The government has published plans for a two-year instalment program: Citizens will be able to consume goods paying in low-interest instalments via a website which the government is going to launch just for that purpose. The program is scheduled to start at the end of July. According to government estimates EGP 100 bn of consumer spending will be attracted by the program. (15.07)

• Egypt’s net international reserves (NIRs) rose slightly by the end of May to post $40.4 billion, up from $40.3 billion recorded by the end of both March and April, which is the highest level they have reached since the end of February, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Thursday 3rd of June.
   
• Total gold reserves increased by the end of May to $4.4 billion, up from $4.1 billion recorded by the end of April, according to the CBE.(08.06)
   
• Egyptian Planning Minister Hala Al-Saeed has said that Egypt expects a gradual improvement in economic performance during the first half of the 2021/2022 fiscal year, as the coronavirus pandemic is expected to be contained by the middle of 2021 amid the rollout of vaccines. (28.04)
   
• Egypt is one of three MENA economies that will see GDP growth return to pre-covid levels in 2021, buoyed by expectations of a strong rebound in the oil and gas and tourism industries this year, Fitch Solutions analysts said at a webinar. “The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) monetary easing of 400 bps last year, as well as expanded fiscal spending and well-executed stimulus policies, helped to cushion the economic blow of the pandemic,” MENA country risk analyst Selim Elbadri said. (20.04)
   
• Remittances from Egyptian workers abroad rose to $7.49 billion in October-December from $6.96 billion a year earlier. (20.04)
   
• Foreign holdings in Egyptian treasuries jumped to around $29 billion in a rebound after a massive hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Al Borsa reported.
   
• The source said that foreign holdings are currently higher than pre-COVID-19 levels, with sovereign funds and leading financial institutions investing heavily in the Egyptian debt market, one of the most appealing to investors among emerging economies. (24.02)
   
• Egypt’s economy will grow 2.4% this fiscal year “amid sluggish global tourism recovery and weak domestic demand,” but will accelerate to 4.1% in FY2022-2023, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in its January report. The forecast for the current fiscal year is below the lower end of the Finance Ministry’s recently updated forecast, which targets a range of 2.8-4%. The EIU expects real GDP growth to rise over the next three fiscal years, peaking at 5.7% in FY2024-2025 before cooling off slightly to 5.2% in FY2025-2026.
  The recovery in vital sectors such as tourism — accounts for 9.5% of employment and 5.5% of GDP — will “depend heavily” on how consumer demand in the EU recovers and a speedy vaccination program.(26.01)
   
• The Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) issued an infograph with the title “Stability of the financial system contributed to confronting the economic repercussions of COVID-19,” which included a presentation of the most prominent points in the Financial Stability 2019 report, issued by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
   
• The report said that the stability of the financial system and the improvement in economic performance helped the Egyptian economy withstand the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.(19.01)
  http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/398280/Business/Economy/Egypts-IDSC-releases-infograph-on-financial-stabil.aspx
   
• Egypt recorded a budget deficit of EGP 462 bn — or 7.9% of GDP — in FY2019-2020, according to Finance Ministry figures (pdf) published this weekend(26.12). The overall deficit fell short of ministry forecasts of 7.2% of GDP at the end of the fiscal year, but is still an improvement from the 8.2% recorded in FY2018-2019. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said last month that Egypt is on track to continue narrowing the budget deficit in FY2020-2021, and is targeting bringing down the deficit to 6.3% of GDP.
   
• Finance Minister Mohamed Maait previously said that state revenues took a hit in the final quarter of the fiscal year. This came as the lockdown and economic disruption hit tax revenues, the suspension of flights brought the tourism sector to a standstill, and trade disruptions caused Suez Canal revenues to dip. (29.12)
   
• According to S&P Global Ratings, Egypt's foreign exchange reserve is under pressure due to the impact of COVID-19, and low oil prices (09.11)
   
• Egypt’s net international reserves (NIRs) witnessed a slight increase during October to reach $39.2 billion, up from $38.4 billion recorded in September
   
• Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said the Egyptian economy managed to maintain resiliency in the face of the fallout of the coronavirus due to the historic economic reforms over the past few years. Most importantly, the coronavirus crisis underlined the importance of states' dependence on their own resources and this what Egypt did.
   
• Remittances from Egyptian expatriates hiked 10.4 percent during the fiscal year of 2019/2020 to reach $27.8 billion, recording its highest record ever.
   
• Egypt’s recent loan agreements with international lenders is a stabilizing factor for national budget against the current pandemic. The two loans secured from the IMF — the USD 2.8 bn rapid-financing instrument and the USD 5.2 bn standby loan — helped to prevent the pandemic from inflicting serious scars on state finances, providing emergency support for health and social programs, and keeping the budget and balance of payments deficits in check.
   
• The deficit has widened to 7.9% of GDP but still this is a good indicator, compared to others.
   
• The report sees our primary balance just about remaining in a surplus this fiscal year, shrinking to 0.4% from 1.4% in FY2019-2020. This will then pick up, reaching 2.1% in FY2021-2022 until the middle of the decade. Egypt has so far achieved a small primary surplus of EGP 100 mn in 1Q2020-2021 despite ballooning spending needs due to the pandemic, Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said in yesterday’s cabinet weekly meeting.
   
• The government looks to reel in more revenues: The fund sees revenues inching up this fiscal year to 20% from 19.2% last fiscal year, then continue a slow but steady rebound through FY2024-2025. Revenues are being cushioned by the government’s 1% tax on salaries, and a significant increase in borrowing, which has seen it receive USD 8 bn from the IMF, a USD 2 bn loan from foreign banks, while also generating revenue through a USD 5 bn eurobond issuance in May.
   
• Public sector salaries increase:
  • Egypt's parliament has approved a bill that includes a package of new financial benefits for teachers and teaching assistants. A total of 2.1 million teaching staff at public and Azhari pre-university educational institutions will benefit, at a cost of EGP 6.1 billion ($388.5 million). The new financial benefits package will start in January
  •  7-12% for government employees. Effective June 30, 2020. Total Cost of EGP 31 billion.
  • Public sector employees will receive their salaries starting 15 June over four days to avoid congestion at ATMs nationwide.
  • Annual allowance increase for pensions raised to 14% as of June 2020. Pensions to immediately include 5 previously unallocated increases (between 2005-2010). Total cost of EGP 27.6 billion, to benefit 2.4 million families/ 10 million citizens.

• Tourism companies, hotels and private airlines are up for another six-month holiday on their debt, tax, and utilities holiday until this October. Cabinet’s Tourism and Antiquities Committee signed off on the proposal ahead of taking it to the Council of Ministers for a final decision, according to a statement . The stimulus measure, first introduced in April 2020 to prop up the tourism and aviation industries through the pandemic, was originally set to expire last October before being extended until the end of 2020 and then until the end of this coming April as the pandemic continued to batter the tourism industry. (30.03)
   
• Some 11k of Egypt’s largest taxpayers will begin filing taxes through the government’s new unified tax platform from 1 January as the Tax Authority begins to overhaul the way it collects and monitors taxes, Mohsen El Gayar, director of taxpayer services at the authority, tells Enterprise. Tax centers that handle procedures for large and medium-sized companies and high-income self-employed taxpayers will begin using the system on a trial basis at the start of the year, integrating some 64 previously-separated tax services into a single “core taxation system,” Tax Authority head Reda Abdel Kader said.(07.12)
   
• 14% VAT to the rent and purchase of commercial and administrative properties, the 5% schedule tax on crackers and sweet pastries would be replaced by the standard VAT rate. The amendments, which were signed off by the cabinet’s economic committee in June, would also subject most commercial advertising to the tax but scrap the 20% stamp tax on ads, and allow tourists to claim VAT rebates.
   
• Egypt's trade ministry has reduced import fees on iron billets to $60 per ton for six months (18/10)
   
• Unified custom duty of 2% on imported machinery required for establishment
   
• Dividends distribution in one-person companies is not subject to income tax
   
• The house of representatives has finally signed the new Covid-19 salary tax which will be in place for 12 months. All public and private-sector employees will see 1% docked from their salaries as of this month and pensioners will be charged a 0.5% tax on their state pensions. The only people exempt from the charge are those earning a salary or receiving a pension of less than 2k a month or individuals or employees of companies that receive a special dispensation from the cabinet. (21.07)
   
• The National Telecom Regulatory Authority has imposed a 5% new tax on all imported mobile phones from the 1st July on. The fee will not apply to mobile phones assembled in Egypt. (01.07.20)

• The tax is expected to stand at 5% applied to mobile phones, phone accessories and parts besides the regular VAT and any other fees. Some mobile phone accessories like Bluetooth headsets can be subject to a 30% tax plus the VAT.
  
  Playstations can be taxed up to 60% while selfie sticks and cameras are subject to 20% tax; all this is in addition to a 14% VAT. The tax is expected to cause a big increase in prices which will affect sales negatively. (05.07.)
   
• Tax reductions for tourism and manufacturing industries:
  • Postpone the payment of the real estate tax due on the factories for a period of 3 months, and allow the installment of the real estate tax due for the previous periods, through monthly installments for a period of 6 months.
  • Exempting the touristic companies from the real estate tax for a period of 6 months, and allowing the installment of the real estate tax due from previous periods through monthly installments for a period of 6 months.
  • Cancellation of the reservation on the funds of defaulters to pay previous taxes, in exchange for paying 10% of the tax.
  • Postponing the payment of social development contributions for a period of 3 months without calculating delay fines.
  • The Finance Ministry has issued a decree obliging VAT registrants to file their taxes despite the partial economic shutdown, the local press reports.
     
• The new income tax:
  • Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait announced on Wednesday that the new income tax system is going to be applied as of FY2020/2021, which goes for the income earned from industrial and commercial activities, non-commercial professions, and real-estate revenues.
  • He said that the new system is in line with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s directives to achieve tax justice progressively and upgrade income tax quintiles to uplift the living standards of citizens.
  • http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/369282/Business/Economy/New-income-tax-system-to-be-applied-as-of-July-Fin.aspx

“Development fees” - Plugging the fiscal deficit:

The House Planning and Budgeting Committee approved (03.05) a series of new “development fees” proposed by the Finance Ministry to help it plug the fiscal deficit as the state mobilizes cash to fight covid-19. Among the newly imposed or newly hiked fees:

• Egypt's finance ministry has agreed to exempt engineering industries from a financial resources development fee, an official at the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) said on Sunday. Mohamed El Bahy, the head of the Tax and Customs Committee at the FEI, said the finance ministry has agreed to exempt the fees on iron shipments from abroad.

• Mobile phones and accessories would be subject to a 5% fee on the total cost after tacking on VAT and other taxes;
   
• Commercial internet bills would be subject to a 2.5% fee;
   
• Pet food would be subject to a fee equivalent to 25% of the customs invoice for the product;
   
• A EGP 2 fee will be applied to all transactions charged EGP 0.05 or more in stamp tax, with the exception of butane cylinders and individual tickets for railway and land transport;
   
• Fees for concerts and other entertainment events in hotels or public spaces would rise to 12% from 10%. Events hosted by both the state and by organizations affiliated with the Culture Ministry would be exempt;
   
• Contracts between sporting teams and foreign or local athletes or coaches would be subject to a 3-10% fee, depending on the value of the contract;
   
• Raw tobacco would be subject to a fee of EGP 1.5/kg, while manufactured tobacco products and shisha tobacco would be subject to a EGP 3/kg fee;
   
• Imported finished steel products sold on the local market would be subject to a 10% fee after customs and taxes.

• The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has decided to extend the number of measures it has adopted since the onset of the pandemic for the sake of containing the COVID-19 pandemic’s severe impacts through the end of 2021,
   
• No fees on inter-bank EGP transfers, ATM withdrawals or POS transaction fees for another six months, after President Abdel Fattah El Sisi instructed the central bank to extend the exemption period to the end of the year, the CBE said in a statement (pdf) .Transaction fees for contactless payment cards, mobile wallets and e-payments will also remain suspended until 31 December while the central bank will continue to cover the cost of withdrawal fees for pensioners. (24.06)
   
• Egypt came fifth in countries receiving remittances in 2020, with inflows from Egyptian expatriates rising 11 percent to an all-time high of roughly $30 billion, the World Bank's Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD) initiative said in a report on Wednesday.
   
• Last year was the fifth consecutive year that Egyptian remittances have risen, the report said.
   
• Remittances to the Middle East and North Africa jumped 2.3 percent to around $56 billion last year, despite the coronavirus pandemic. (18.05)
   
• The use of payment cards of all kinds rose 13 percent to report 44.8 million cards nationwide in the second half of 2020, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Monday.
   
• According to a monthly bulletin, payment cards, including debit, credit and prepaid cards, jumped from 39.6 million by the end of June 2020. (05.05)
   
• The Central Bank of Egypt, in collaboration with the country’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), has launched a new initiative that aims to support fintech solutions to coronavirus-related problems in the banking and the financial sectors.
   
• The initiative is organized by DFS Lab, an early stage fintech accelerator, and FSD Africa, a specialist development agency working to reduce poverty by strengthening financial markets across the continent.
   
• The COVID-19 Innovation Sprint, set to take place in March, will see start-ups submit solutions to the financial sector's COVID-related challenges.(23.02)
   
• Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Tarek Amer  said that about 23 million new prepaid Meeza cards have been issued, including Takaful and Karama, pension, and employee payment cards that have been replaced with Meeza. In November, Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said that all state employees' payment cards would be replaced with Meeza prepaid cards within a year.  Egypt is encouraging citizens and state bodies to reduce the use of cash and rely on e-payments and other modern tools to save time, effort and money.(26.01)
   
• The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has ordered all banks in the country to respond to customers' inquiries about all of its initiatives to support the economy amid the coronavirus crisis.
  The CBE called on banks to provide a service to respond to queries about its initiatives via their hotlines, and to make sure that the appropriate employees are aware of the details of the measures.
  The CBE also ordered all banks to provide all tourism sector clients with the terms and conditions of the initiatives.(18.01)  
   
• Egyptian banks are barred from paying out cash dividends to shareholders on 2020 returns under instructions (pdf) issued yesterday by the Central Bank of Egypt designed to protect bank liquidity as covid-19 continues to affect the economy. Banks will not be allowed to “make [currency] payouts from this year’s profits, or profits carried over eligible for distribution to shareholders,” CBE Governor Tarek Amer said in the statement.(12.01)
   
• The Central Bank of Egypt’s Monetary Policy Committee left rates on hold in its policy meeting on Thursday, citing higher inflation and muted economic growth in the third quarter of the year, the CBE said in a statement (pdf). The decision comes amid growing global concern about a new, faster spreading covid-19 variant. This prompted the central bank to pause its easing cycle after having already enacted two consecutive rate cuts (29.12)
   
• The Central Bank of Egypt is pushing ahead with a plan to have 1 mn point of sale machines in use nationwide within three years, CBE Deputy Governor Rami Aboul Naga said  (pdf), positioning the move as part of the bank’s drive to bring more people into the formal financial system and cut back sharply on the use of cash(07.12).
   
• EBRD provides Egypt’s banks with $750 mln to support SMEs during Covid-19 crisis, invests over €7 bln in 125 projects
   
• Egypt’s central bank cut its main interest rates by 50 basis points on 12/11, moving to support an economy badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic as inflation remained muted.
   
• The sale of state-owned United Bank to a strategic investor has been postponed until the covid-19 pandemic has abated and a vaccine is found,
   
• The following precautionary measurements are being implemented to maximize the contribution of the banking sector by stimulating the use of electronic channels and devices in payments that would facilitate the conduct of financial transactions on citizens and contribute to limiting the spread of the virus:
   
• Consumers will now be able to pay for a wider range of products in installments: The Financial Regulatory Authority has approved a list of new goods such as clothing, furniture, jewelry or toys eligible for financing under the consumer financing law.  (08.07)
   
• Canceling the negative lists of bank customers who defaulted on previous loans, while granting them the right to obtain new loans.
   
• Providing loans at an interest rate of 5% for small and medium enterprises.
   
• Providing loans with an interest rate of 8% for companies operating in the fields of tourism, industry, agriculture, and construction.
   
• Exempting local transfers in Egyptian pounds from all fees.
   
• Payment of one billion pounds in support of companies working in the field of export during March and April 2020, with an additional payment of 10% in cash in next June.
   
• Paying five hundred pounds per month for everyone in irregular employment (unemployment grant).
   
• These instructions apply to all clients, including leasing companies, real estate companies, factoring companies, as well as small- and medium enterprises. Individual facilities include:  consumer loans, mortgage loans for private housing. The instructions don’t apply to credit overdue granted from the date the instructions were issued. The banks are obliged not to impose any commission on any delay in returns. Only the rate of return applied to loans is calculated according to the pricing mechanism before the instructions were issued. If the customer does not wish to benefit from the delay or incur any additional costs resulting from it, his request will be complied with.
   
• Central Bank of Egypt further relaxed the rules for banks regarding the participation in BoD meetings via video or teleconference
   
• The Federation of Egyptian Banks (FEB) has launched a financing initiative backed by the central bank to support those affected by the economic impact of the coronavirus:
  • Banks will offer financing based on their annual profits under four categories, with funding ranging from EGP 10-80 million ($635,000-$5 million). Banks earning EGP 5 billion a year onwards will offer EGP 80 million and those making profits between EGP 3-5 billion will provide funding of EGP 40 million. Banks making gains of EGP 1-3 billion will provide EGP 20 million and those gaining less than EGP 1 billion will offer EGP 10 million.
  • The financing will be provided over a period of three months starting April. The initiative aims to soften the fallout of the economic slowdown resulting from the coronavirus outbreak, which has forced partial or total closures of businesses across several sectors.
     
• The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has canceled a maximum cap of EGP 1 billion ($63.5 million) in annual sales by the industrial private sector and the agricultural sector, to increase the number of recipients benefiting from a recent EGP 100 billion funding initiative. This move aims to reduce the burden on large corporations amid the current economic pressure due to coronavirus.
   
• Banks are now focusing on the safety net of treasury investments and interbank deposits.
   
• Egypt has set a limitation for withdrawals and deposits in Egypt. In-branch cash withdrawals and deposits are now limited to EGP 10k per day for individuals. Companies have a daily limit of 50.000 LE. These measures aim to avoid crowding, gatherings and to ensure protection. Furthermore, the central banks also urged the people to limit their use of banknotes and focus more on e-payments and electronic transfers. The bank of Egypt released a book for banks clarifying which transactions are exempted from the new limitations guidelines:
  • Government deposits regarding electricity, natural gas, water, and oil bills with a commitment to the daily deposit limit.
  • Public and private sector enterprises
  • Checks that are submitted to the CBE´s set-off
  • Checks worth more than EGP 10,000 will be cashed with EGP 10,000 and the rest of the sum will be cashed over several days.
  • Credit card dues and any attached liabilities, including letters of credit

Digital Banking:

• Small businesses in Egypt are increasingly optimistic about where the economy is going, with 75% of respondents surveyed in Visa’s 2021 Small Business Recovery study (pdf) saying they expect a recovery this year. A key driver: The adoption of digital payments solutions as the central bank and Finance Ministry pushes ahead with digitalization and financial inclusion drives. As you’d expect with a survey created by a card and payment provider, the poll focuses heavily on e-payments. (23.03)
   
• Patterns of consumer behavior have changed during almost two months of lockdown, with social distancing rules driving up demand for digital banking services across Egypt.
   
• Institutions including the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt and BLOM Bank have all increased their electronic service capabilities since March.
   
• Such developments have included facilitating increased use of online banking, mobile bank transfers and e-wallets for contactless payments.

Financial support of different groups of society:

• The Cabinet's Information Center revealed Saturday that the number of beneficiaries of the monetary subsidies program Takaful Wa Karama has reached 3.6 million, and that the target is recording four million by the end of 2020.
   
• The Egyptian Education Minister, Tarek Shawky, decided on Wednesday to cancel the annual fee increase for private, language, and international schools for the 2020/2021 academic year due to economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus outbreak.
   
• Around 125,000 fully finished housing units for low and middle-income citizens are set to be delivered within 36 months in 14 new cities, Egyptian Housing Minister Assem Al-Gazzar has said. The minister said that the window for reservations, purchase of conditions booklets and payment of deposits will be from November 1 to 8 for people with special needs only, and from November 11 to December 7 for all citizens, including those with special needs.
   
• Egypt has provided 53 women from 19 countries across Africa a training on ways of how to withstand the social and economic impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic
   
• The government also increased the monthly income for women leaders in rural communities from LE 300 to LE 900 per month and integrated women aged 65 and above in nursing homes under the umbrella of social protection.
   
• Egyptian elderly citizens over the age of 70 have been allowed to get into all means of the public transportation for free in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. The senior people over the age of 60 were also allowed to ride all public transport means with half-fare tickets
   
• Some 200,000 households (approximately 1 million beneficiaries) will receive a cash payment of EGP 450–500 (USD 28.5–32) for three months in addition to potential in-kind benefits, with priority given to older persons, orphans, persons with disabilities and female-headed households. In-kind support in the form of food and pourtly is being targeted towards widows, female heads-of- households, the elderly and people with disabilities, provided by the Tahya Masr Fund in collaboration with MoSS and the Ministry of Local Development.(09/10)
   
• To support women’s economic security during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS) is planning to add 60,000 families to Takaful and Karama cash transfer programmes, increasing its budget from EGP 18.5 billion to EGP 19.3 billion (USD 1.75 billion to 1.22 billion) and reaching a total of 3.6 million households by 2021 (including around 16 million beneficiaries). These programmes mainly target women heads-of-households.
   
• Minister of Social Solidarity Nevin El-Qabbaj announced the exemption of 1.1 million students, who come from families-in-need that are not enrolled in the cash transfer social programme Takaful and Karama, from school fees this academic year. The total cost set to be borne by the ministry for this exemption comes to EGP 280 million (about $17.8 million) (12/10)
   
• 100 school bags will be given to students from families-in-need free of charge, in coordination with civil society organisations. The ministry will also provide college grants to 6,309 students who achieve high grades in pre-university education and those who are part of the Takaful and Karama programme.In September, Minister of Education Tarek Shawki announced that the ministry plans on distributing 1.8 million tablets among students (12/10)
   
• Takaful and Karama Initiative Beneficiaries Exceed 3.2 Mn Families, with 400,000 additional families set to be integrated into the program, said Minister of Social Solidarity Niveen El-Qabbag. The social development program aims to create 70,000 employment opportunities, including for women and young people in small and micro enterprises.
   
• According to a study by Heba El leithy who works as an advisor for the Central Authority for Public Mobilization and Statistics about 74% of the Egyptians currently receive a decreased income due to the current crisis. 33% of the interviewees even reported that their income was no longer enough to cover the minimum living expenses. (20.07)
   
• The social solidarity ministry will disburse the payments to families in tranches to avoid crowds, in line with the state’s precautionary measures to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Temporary laborers and informal workers:

• Egypt began on Sunday(07.03) disbursing the last tranche of cash payments to irregular workers who are affected by the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic
   
• More than EGP 5.3 billion has been disbursed to irregular workers since the onset of the pandemic in March (09.03)
   
• Egyptian Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said that that EGP 1 billion ($63.5 million) will be transferred to fund the second part of the second phase of an exceptional coronavirus aid grant to informal laborers, bringing the total spent on the program since the beginning of the pandemic to EGP 4.3 billion ($274.5 million). Egypt has been paying informal workers a monthly allowance of EGP 500 ($31.93) each since April to support them amid the repercussions of the coronavirus. (19.01)
   
• The aid distributed to workers in tourist establishments is equivalent to 100 per cent of main wages, at a minimum of EGP 600, said the minister during a meeting of the ministry's emergency fund board.(12/10)

• Egyptian stocks plunged on Monday as news on the new COVID-19 strain in Britain heavily hit regional and global markets.
   
• The EGX30 benchmark fell 2.83 percent to close at 10,581.76 points, amid a turnover of approximately EGP 953.1 million ($60.8 million).
   
• Sherif Nabawy, director of international markets at NAEEM Holding, chalked the fall in Egyptian stocks up to "panic in global and regional markets in early trading because of the new strain." (22.12)
   
• Foreign inflows into Egyptian bonds have surged to more than USD 20 bn just a few months after investors pulled USD bns during the global market panic in the spring caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reports. Investment in short-term Treasury bills and long-term bonds more than doubled to USD 21.1 bn as of mid-October.
   
• The amendments set a stamp tax rate on EGX trades of 0.125% for foreign investors and 0.05% for residents, both of which were previously set at 0.15%
   
• Egypt listed its five-year $750 million sovereign green bonds on London Stock Exchange in a virtual event on Thursday, marking a cooperation with the UK that promotes a green economic recovery from the coronavirus.
   
• Reducing the stamp tax on non-residents to 1.25 per thousand instead of 1.5 per thousand.
   
• Reducing the stamp tax on residents to 0.5 per thousand instead of 1.5 per thousand, until the capital gains tax is imposed on them at the beginning of 2022.
   
• Reducing the dividend tax rate for companies listed on the stock market by 50% to be 5% only.
   
• Full exemption of immediate transactions on stocks from stamp duty.
   
• Exempting non-residents from the capital gains tax permanently, and postponing this tax on residents until 1/1/2022.
   
• President Sisi announced an EGP 20 bn (USD 1.3 bn) Central Bank allocation to support the country's stock exchang

Majid Al Futtaim shopping malls’ store sales have contracted by 19 percent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated implications as well as related lockdown measures, according to the acting Managing Director of west region Shopping Malls Majid Al Futtaim Properties Rasha Azab. She clarified that the decline was at an acceptable percentage in comparison to numbers experienced worldwide.

However, Azab noted that there are indications of sales starting to recover since the beginning of 2021, despite the third wave of the coronavirus hitting Egypt. (01.06)

• Smartphone sales in Egypt grew 10.6% y-o-y to 11.9 mn units in 2020 as “strong demand” from people working and studying remotely offset consumer purchase power drops during the pandemic, market researcher IDC said in a recent report. (31.03)

Manufacturers want to run their own vaccination programs for workers. The Association of Industrial Investors is petitioning the Madbouly government to allow private companies to import the vaccine on their own dime and vaccinate their employees, the association’s head Sobhy Nasr told the local press . The proposal reportedly received the endorsement of the Federation for Investors Associations as well. (29.12)

• Real estate developers have pushed back against plans to end the VAT exemption for non-residential properties, suggesting that businesses already struggling through the coronavirus pandemic will not be able to cope with the additional costs. The government argues that the changes are necessary to close loopholes in the legislation, which impose VAT on some commercial properties — such as stores located in malls — but not others.
   
• The value of real estate financing provided by banks and companies to low-income customers via the Social Housing and Mortgage Finance Fund (SHMFF) increased by EGP 900 million ($57.3 million) from mid-August to mid-September (12/10)
   
• Demand for real estate in Egypt rose 12 percent month on month in August to reach 2,671 points on the monthly Aqarmap Real Estate Index.

• Delta Sugar became a loss maker in 2020 due to the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, the region's largest beet sugar producer said in a disclosure to the bourse on Thursday the 18th. Feb.
   
• Delta Sugar said it posted net losses of EGP 253.95 million ($16.2 million) during 2020, compared with EGP 42.89 million in profits the previous year.(23.02)
   
• Egypt has expanded its import contracts and successfully met public demand for food by following a government action plan that came with the coronavirus outbreak. The country quickly responded to the slowdown of the global trade market, with president ordering an increase in imports and encouraging more domestic production.

• Passenger car sales almost doubled in May, increasing 88% y-o-y from the same month last year, according to figures from the Automotive Information Council (AMIC). Nearly 15.2k vehicles were sold during the month, up from only 8k in May 2020. On a monthly basis, however, sales were down from 16k cars sold in April. (06.07)

• Egypt is preparing to announce the establishment of the largest spinning and weaving factory in the world in Mahalla al-Kubra, at a cost of about LE900 million.
   
• It is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, after construction work was delayed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
   
• According to the Holding Company for Cotton, Spinning, Weaving, and Clothes, this factory will be the largest in the world and will contribute to a major shift for this industry in Egypt. The factory marks the first step forward towards the development and modernization of the textile industry, through the government’s plan to develop it at a cost of more than LE21 billion over two years.(23.03)
   
• Egyptian ready-made garments exports to the American market through the QIZ protocol fell by 17 percent between January to November 2020.
   
• The Ready-made Garments Export Council said that the total exports during this period reached US$722 million compared to about US$ 867 million during the same period in 2019.
   
• The clothing export sector faces great challenges since the coronavirus outbreak which has impacted all world economies, said Mohamed Qasim, a member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of the Egyptian Industries. (26.01)
   
• Giza Spinning is shelving its planned IPO until at least 1Q2022 due to covid-19, but will reassess the timeline again based on market conditions, Managing Director Fadel Marzouk told Al Mal. Even if vaccine rollouts begin soon, the company has opted out of listing during the summer of 2021 as the season is “not a good time for an IPO,” he said. Marzouk did not confirm the anticipated size or value of the stake sale, but the company had previously said it is looking to put up to 40% of its shares on the EGX. The proceeds from the IPO will be used to finance an EGP 250 mn project to expand its yarn and garment production capacities.(19.01)

• The Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation al-Sayed al-Quseir, announced Sunday(28.02), that the volume of Egyptian agricultural exports has increased to about one million tons since the beginning of this year up until February, with an increase of five percent compared to the same period of last year.(03.03)
   
• Wholesale prices for potatoes have decreased sharply over the past week, driving Egyptian farmers to abandon their own crops due to lockdown polices from importing countries harming the Egyptian product, saturating the local market and causing low demand.
   
• Farmers in Upper Egypt’s Minya governorate have dumped large amounts of their crop after prices collapsed from prices from LE10 (US$0.64) per kilogram to 70 piasters (US$ 0.045) per kilogram, forcing them to clear land to grow other crops to compensate their loss. (12.01)
   
• Agricultural Land Tax Suspension: The President ratified on July 14th a two-year suspension of the 14% agricultural land tax, extending a three-year suspension that began in 2017 until 2022.
   
• The viral pandemic only affects 15 percent of agricultural exports, according to the head of Egyptian agricultural quarantine, Ahmed El-Attar.

• A recent economic report from the MasterCard Economics Institute showed that over 72 percent of Egyptians have shopped online more since February 2020, shortly before the emergence of the coronavirus.
   
• The report, titled “Economy 2021”, expects that this trend towards cashless transactions will be more stable in economies such as Egypt. The institute estimated a steady increase in e-commerce spending at a rate of 20-30 percent of the total spending on retail trade as a result of the pandemic. (19.01)
   
• Digital payments, fintech and e-commerce have thrived across all metrics this year thanks to the pandemic. Ceilings on contactless transactions have doubled since the start of the pandemic. Between the beginning of the outbreak and June, e-commerce sales in Egypt shot up 80%, while 15% of businesses in Egypt reported more online sales now than before the pandemic.
   
• Meanwhile, the number of mobile wallets in Egypt has jumped at least 17% to 14.4 mn between March and October as the pandemic boosted digital payments, as the number of e-payment cards in use also rose 7% in the first six months of 2020, rising to 39.6 mn from 36.7 mn at the end of December. (29.12)
   
• The pandemic e-commerce boom may be tapering off for Egypt’s SMEs, as 61% of those with a Facebook presence reported a y-o-y drop in sales in October, while 45% of businesses had to reduce their staff, according to the findings of a survey by Facebook, the World Bank, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The silver lining: 15% of businesses reported more online sales now than before the pandemic, while 56% said they were optimistic about the future of their business. (14.12)
   
• Technology services start-up Paynas has announced its partnership with Visa and Banque Misr on the first co-branded payroll card in Egypt, designed to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) eliminate cash wages and financially empower their employees. 
   
• The partnership will provide Visa Paynas cards through a network of Banque Misr branches across the country.
   
• Paynas is a digital platform designed to provide financial services that meet the needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including human resources management and flexible financial solutions.
   
• Malak Al Baba, general manager of Visa International in Egypt, said that the partnership with Paynas serves the company's goal of developing the financial sector in Egypt and the region. (14.12)
   
• Souq.com, Amazon’s leading e-commerce platform in the region, has witnessed 66 percent increase in demand on its online platform since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed Souq.com to expand its logistics network by 1.5 million feet to meet this increase, Souq.com manager of Egypt Omar El-Sahy said.
   
• E-payment giant Fawry plans "aggressive growth" in its customer base in addition to expansion of its mobile offerings and lending services during the next year. The coronavirus lockdowns, in addition to the government vision towards digital transformation, have contributed to "phenomenal growth" in mobile wallet transactions.
   
• The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) should accelerate the implementation of digital transformation in Egypt in a number of defined areas (adopting digital currency, the tax system through modern electronic systems) because due to covid 19 Information and communication technology represent 70 percent of the world investment and the number will even grow.
   
• Within a year all public sector salaries will be paid through Meeza cards, replacing the government-issued cards currently in use. The cards will allow users to withdraw cash through ATMs, make purchases online, and pay government fees through its e-payments portal.
   
• Maait said 10 phases, started in May 2019, of the electronic collecting system have been carried out, including the installation of 17,000 ATMs nationwide.
   
• Head of the e-payment and collecting unit at the finance ministry, Samar Adel, said the ministry has collaborated with the banking sector to make payments and dues repaying available through the QR Code portfolios using the electronic collecting units in administrative bodies and via mobile phones, which is safer and easier amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
   

• The ministry obliged all the state’s administrative bodies to collect all payments and dues electronically through the centre established by the ministry for this purpose, which is managed by E-finance.

• As Covid-19 imposes a new normal on world countries, Egypt raised investment allocations for the ICT sector by 300 percent in FY 2021/22 
   
• Digital transformation has become a necessity, not only for a better economic performance and for the prosperity of the people, but also for accelerating the recovery from the severe repercussions of the crisis, which is set to be long-lasting, and for building back the economies. (10.08)
  https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/418543/Business/Economy/Digital-transformation-Egypt%e2%80%99s-means-to-build-back.aspx
   
• Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat announced on Sunday (07.02) that his ministry is looking to bring the telecommunications sector’s contribution to Egypt’s gross domestic product to eight percent over the next three years.
•  
• This sector was the fastest-growing sector in Egypt during the last fiscal year 2019-2020, growing at a rate of 15.2 percent. (09.02)
  https://egyptindependent.com/egypt-seeks-to-increase-telecom-sectors-gdp-contribution-to-8-minister/
   
• The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) announced on Monday the launch of a new round of its annual “Export IT” program to support IT companies in the domestic market in response to the COVID-19 challenges.
   
• Throughout the past two years, ITIDA has granted IT export incentives on proceeds of value-added exports.
   
• The action aims at supporting local IT companies to develop their resources, enhance competitiveness, and reduce export overheads, ITIDA said in a statement. (19.01)http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/399069/Business/Economy/Egypts-ITIDA-launches-th-round-of-Export-IT-to-sup.aspx
   
• Egypt’s public e-bills jumped to EGP 4 billion per month in 2020, up from EGP 1 billion, growing by 250 percent, owing to the coronavirus, said Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait 
   
• This significant leap came as a result of a number of new government services that have become available online to encourage citizens to use e-payment. The move is in line with the state trajectory towards digital transformation, he added. (06.01)
   
• Digital payments and mobile wallets in Egypt has jumped at least 17% to 14.4 mn between March and October.
   
• All that led to ICT becoming Egypt’s fastest growing sector in FY2019-2020 seeing 15.2% y-o-y growth, according to a CIT Ministry statement. With an output of EGP 108 bn, compared to EGP 93.5 bn in FY2018-2019, the sector’s contribution to Egypt's GDP was approximately 4.4% in FY2019-2020, up from 3.8% in FY2018-2019. Investments in the sector rose 35% y-o-y to EGP 48.1 bn, up from EGP 35.4 bn, while exports increased 13% to EGP 4.1 bn from EGP 3.6 bn. (29.12)

• Late in September, the government said citizens having permits can continue constructing their buildings up to the fourth floor. (12/10)
   
• Construction ban partially relaxed: Contractors and real estate developers will now be permitted to resume construction on buildings that are no higher than four storeys after the government yesterday (28.08)relaxed some of the construction restrictions introduced in May. The exemption applies only to companies that have already obtained the required building permits, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said following a meeting with local governors and the local development minister.
   
• The Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has urged construction firms to work at full strength while taking the necessary precautionary measures against the coronavirus because the construction sector is feeding 90 industries in the country and is thus key for setting production in motion in the face of an economic slowdown caused by the deadly virus.
   
• The government is requiring construction companies to monitor their workers’ temperatures and provide them with masks and disinfectants as precautions against covid-19. Ambulances will also be required to remain on sites with more than 100 workers.

• Lafarge Egypt forecasts the exit of 5-6 Cement Companies from the Egyptian market by 2021, if the current crisis in the sector persists, CEO Solomon Baumgartner Aviles said in a virtual conference yesterday, according to Al Mal. He added that if radical steps are not taken to solve the crisis, many workers will be displaced due to the exit of producers from the market. Aviles said that merger activity will be a temporary solution for some large companies in the near future, but that Lafarge Egypt is not currently considering any acquisitions due to heavy losses and the weak cost of assets.
   
• Demand for cement has witnessed a drastic decline in the Egyptian market with a surplus in production amid the COVID-19 crisis, managing director of Misr Cement Co. (Qena) Tarek Talaat said. Talaat said that despite government efforts, including reducing natural gas and electricity tariffs, the sector needs further state initiatives to stimulate demand for cement and related products and bridge the gap between consumption and production.
  http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/373961/Business/Economy/Egypt%E2%80%99s-cement-sector-suffers-drop-in-demand-amid-.aspx

• Advertising agencies have reportedly lost a combined EGP 200-250 mn in sales revenue between January and April, quoting Federation of Egyptian Industries member Ashraf Khairy. With advertising agencies locked into long-term contracts to rent billboards for outdoor ads (which they then on-sell to their clients for campaigns), Khairy is asking state agencies and companies to waive rents for the foreseeable future. Khairy had suggested earlier this month (May) that the industry is being hit particularly hard by covid-19, with outdoor ads having taken the biggest blow. As many as 250k direct jobs in the industry are now a risk, the story claims.
   
• AdMazad, the data-driven solution provider for out-of-home (OOH) advertising, reported that more than half of Greater Cairo’s outdoor billboards were empty in April 2020, compared to a vacancy rate of just 18% during the same month last year. Most industries cut back on their outdoor billboard advertising during the month, with real estate ads accounting for 27% of occupied billboard space, compared to 43% in April 2019. FMCG and banking ad space also dipped y-o-y. On the flipside, the healthcare industry’s billboard ads soared 70% y-o-y — but the jump is not necessarily attributable to the covid-19 pandemic, since the majority of these were already penciled in last year. Outdoor ad space occupancy is expected to begin rebounding next month, but will likely still fall short of last year’s figures. The company, AdMazad surveyed 1.9k “large billboards” in March and April. (Follow the link for the pdf: http://enterprise.press/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AdMazad-OOH-Stats-April.pdf)

• The value of automobile exports through Egyptian ports grew 8.6 percent to reach $65 million during the first 11 months of last year, compared with $59.8 million in the same period of 2019.
   
• According to a report from state statistics body CAPMAS on Thursday, the total number of exported cars, buses and trucks was around 421 vehicles during January to November in 2020. Of those, 389 were buses. (03.03)
   
• GB Auto suspends capex for 2020 as part of its plans to mitigate effects of covid-19 on business: GB Auto has outlined a course of action to shield its business from the fallout of Egypt’s response to covid-19, which included suspending last month the issuance of new car licenses. The suspension was part of a broader shutdown of government services that saw the closure of Traffic Police offices as well as of offices providing visas, work permits and passport services.

• Egypt’s national air carrier EgyptAir is seeking financial assistance from the Egyptian government this year amounting to EGP 5 to 7 billion ($317.84 million to $444.98 million) to help pay salaries, outstanding loans and aircraft leasing fees, EgyptAir Holding Chairman and CEO Rushdi Zakaria said on Monday. (23.03)
   
• Egypt reduces fuel price for aviation to boost tourism ailing from coronavirus
   
• The discounts will stimulate travel and help the tourism sector overcome coronavirus challenges
   
• The petroleum ministry said on Thursday(21.01) fuel will be sold to the aviation sector for 15 cents per gallon.
   
• The discounted price is effective until the end of the year.(26.01)
   
• The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) will provide EGP 1.8 bn of a 10-year, EGP 3 bn loan to EgyptAir being arranged by Banque du Caire, with BdC covering the remainder, Al Mal reports. EgyptAir has sustained losses of some EGP 3 bn since covid-19 grounded global travel and the company’s foreign debt currently stands at EGP 13 bn, said EgyptAir holding company president Mohamed Zakria.
   
• The coronavirus pandemic could lead to losses of $1.6 billion in revenues by Egypt's airline industry, according to a forecast by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
   
• The IATA said the suspension of flights to and from Egypt due to the outbreak could lead to 9.5 million fewer passengers in 2020, risking almost 205,560 jobs and losing around $2.4 billion in GDP.

• Suez Canal's revenues rose by 8.8 percent year on year during the first half of 2021 to hit $3 billion, Osama Rabie, chairman of the Suez Canal Authority (SCA), said. A total of 9,760 vessels crossed the canal during the first six months of this year, up from 9540 during the first half of 2020, an increase of 2.31 percent, Rabie added. (07.06)
   
• Suez receipts almost hit pre-pandemic levels: Revenues from the Suez Canal — another source of foreign currency that was hit hard by the pandemic — were only fractionally below pre-pandemic levels, bringing in USD 5.16 bn during the quarter compared to USD 5.24 bn in 2Q2019-2020. Revenues rose slightly during the quarter, reaching USD 1.5 bn from USD 1.4 bn in 1Q.(13.04)
   
• The Suez Canal is extending through 1 June 2021 its incentive scheme that sees LNG carriers traveling between the US and SouthEast Asia receiving 30-75% off their transit fees. This follows an earlier announcement that transit fees for large oil tankers traveling between northern Europe and southeast Asia will be slashed by 48%. (06.01)
   
• The Suez Canal will grant a reduction of 48 percent of the regular transit fees to giant crude oil tankers with a deadweight greater than 250,000 tons loaded from ports in northwest Europe to the port of Gibraltar and heading to ports of Southeast Asia and the Far East, starting from Port Klang and its east. 
   
• Safwat added that this decision is ongoing until May 31, 2021. (22.12)

• The IMF announced on Wednesday(23.06) the completion of Egypt’s $5.2 billion stand-by agreement (SBA) programme loan and the completion of the second and final review of the programme, which paves the way for the country to receive the third tranche of the loan worth $1.6 billion.
  The programme's main objectives included helping Egypt cope with the challenges posed by the coronavirus.(24.06) https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/414909/Business/Economy/IMF-approves-final-tranche-of-Egypts-SBA-loan-prog.aspx
   
• The IMF has bumped its growth outlook for Egypt in FY2020-2021 to 2.8%, up from its 2% forecast in June. The lifting of lockdown measures has helped the economy to show “early signs of recovery” after a milder-than-expected downturn, the Fund’s Executive Board said following its first review of Egypt’s USD 5.2 bn standby loan agreement. This would make Egypt one of only a handful of countries to have grown in 2020, with the report estimating the economy expanded 1.5%. On the flipside, this means that FY2021-2022 will see “less sharp growth” as the recovery will now come sooner than expected.(12.01)
   
• The IMF staff team and the Egyptian authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on the first review of Egypt’s economic program supported by the IMF’s $5.2 billion Stand-by Arrangement ( press release. 20/248 ). This agreement is subject to approval by the IMF’s Executive Board, which will take place in the coming weeks. Upon approval, an additional SDR 1.16 billion (about US$1.6 billion) will be made available to Egypt.
   
• Egypt secured two facilities worth $8 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help its economy recover from the pandemic's impacts

Egypt, IFC launch new programme to support women workers amid Covid-19 crisis

• The World Bank (WB) provided Egypt with $450 million in support of the COVID-19 Emergency Response under its fast-track facility to strengthen and support Egypt’s transformational Universal Health Insurance System.
   
• The WB also provided additional financing of $500 million to support Egypt’s ongoing efforts to improve the affordability of formal housing for low income households in Egypt and strengthen the capacity of Egypt’s social housing and mortgage finance fund.
   
• The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has launched a new advisory programme to improve women’s employment opportunities in the Egyptian market through highlighting how private sector companies can tap into the country’s large, under-utilised female talent pool and spur economic growth.
   
• The World Bank Group had established a Fast Track COVID-19 facility to help countries in health and economic emergency response against the pandemic and these countries include Egypt that is eligible for $50million funding based on the criteria set by the facility. The money will go to development and distribution of medical supplies, training health professionals, quarantining, treatment and isolation facilities and other technological and medical support needed to prevent, detect and respond to the pandemic. Response and it is a part of a USD 14 bn in immediate funds it is disbursing to combat the spread of the virus in developing countries, the bank said in a statement. The funds will be issued under a larger USD 160 bn support package to vulnerable communities and businesses impacted by the crisis. (To know more about it, please click here)

• The US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the ministries of international cooperation and social solidarity launched an initiative worth $3.2 million to support the Egyptian Red Crescent’s (ERC) network of 30,000 volunteers and healthcare professionals to conduct community outreach and help prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as build the ERC’s capacity to respond to future crises.
   
• The Ministry of International Cooperation also inked seven agreements with USAID worth $112 million to support Egypt’s health, higher education, and scientific research, while the US provided 250 ventilators (worth approx. $8 million) that were spread across different hospitals to help treat COVID-19 patients.
   
• USAID signed seven agreements worth $112.5 million during 2020 amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis
   
• Egypt and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have agreed on implementing five projects worth a total of $105 million, Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation announced on Tuesday.

The deal involves projects in providing socioeconomic support for women, the empowerment of young women, economic governance, the digitalisation of public services, transferring government agencies to the New Administrative Capital, economic courts, and development in the most needy governorates.

USAID is committed to increasing its investments in Egypt, especially in women’s empowerment and gender equality, for the sake of mitigating the negative impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and in line with the common objectives of the Egyptian and US governments.

• USAID is providing the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) with EGP 51 mn grant to support its covid-19 efforts.

• The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) handed €784 million in 2020 in liquidity lines to local banks for on-lending to businesses in the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises in 2020, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and its related impacts.
   
• This came within the EBRD’s annual results announced on Thursday 14th Jan. (19.01)
   
• Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation, Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the UN’s World Trade Organisation (UNWTO) have inked a COVID-19 tourism recovery technical assistance cooperation package to promote resilience, sustainability, and inclusive growth.
   
• The amount of the package is yet to be disclosed.(19.01)
   
• The European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided Egypt’s Banque Misr with a €425 million credit line to support local private small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, EIB stated on Thursday 31.12
   
• Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said Thursday that the ministry had succeeded in raising 7.3 billion dollars of funds from international finance institutions, despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.(01.12)
   
• The UK allocated £1.8 million through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to Egypt in order to support social protection advocacy by the country's social solidarity ministry for the most vulnerable families in society
   
• The European Investment Bank (EIB) also financed projects during 2020 worth €1.7 billion, including the Development and Modernisation of the Western Sewage Treatment Plant in Alexandria project.
   
• United Nations (UN), under the Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF), announced that it is expected to provide Egypt with around $532 million to support four development sectors amid the COVID-19 crisis.
   
• 9.5 million US dollars Japanese grant signed between Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, and H.E Masaki Noke, Ambassador of Japan to Egypt, to support the health sector for the COVID-19 pandemic and for the procurement of medical equipment (21/10)
   
• Arab Fund postpones Egypt's payback for 1 year because of COVID-19
   
• Loan provided by the European Investment Bank worth € 213.9 million for wastewater treatment and collection
   
• The grant provided by the European Union worth €25 million for rehabilitation of sanitation systems
   
• The European Union has doled out EUR 89 mn to Egypt’s healthcare sector as part of a EUR 1.5 bn aid program to help Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Morocco and Tunisia respond to the crisis, EU ambassador to Egypt Ivan Surkos, stated. The funds will be used to purchase medical equipment and train health workers.
   
• The African Development Bank (AfDB) approved on Monday a USD 500k emergency assistance grant to Egypt that will provide food relief and help support to vulnerable communities affected by the pandemic. (https://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/egypt-african-development-bank-approves-emergency-relief-aid-tackle-food-insecurity-vulnerable-workers-whose-livelihoods-are-impacted-covi)
   
• A helping hand for small business owners from the EBRD: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching an online learning and advice program for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to help them navigate the economic pressure of the covid-19 pandemic. The program, which is available at no charge through the EBRD’s Know How Academy, “will also offer specific local information” on where MSMEs can access financial support from governments and banks. (https://www.ebrd.com/news/2020/ebrd-launches-online-learning-resource-for-small-businesses.html).

Egypt will reopen in three phases under a plan released on 13.05 by the Health Ministry. An overview:

1. Phase one includes a raft of measures including requirements that staff at all businesses wear face masks in the workplace.
    
2. Phase two starts after we see 14 days of declining day-on-day counts of new cases in phase one. Measures for the general population and for specific industries will ease over a 28-day period provided there’s no spike in new cases.
    
3. Phase three is probably best described as “watchful waiting” with light precautions in place until the World Health Organization gives the all-clear.

Follow the link for more information: http://enterprise.press/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/التعايش-الديناميكي.pdf

Gross domestic product:

• Overall, according to the IMF report, Egypt’s flexible handling of the coronavirus crisis, adoption of a proactive policy allocating two percent of the GDP to support the most impacted sectors and groups most affected, worked perfectly. The IMF expects rapid recovery of Egypt's economy in the medium term, with growth to reach higher rates even compared to those before the coronavirus crisis.
   
• Egypt’s strong monetary policy, issuing sovereign bonds since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis and its responding policies to the pandemic have contributed to keeping the country’s positive economic outlook through 2020
   
• How Egypt dodged a recession: The shift in outlook is due to the government’s increased spending on infrastructure as well as central bank measures which include interest rate cuts.Some of the factors that helped - the resumption of public spending, boosting the economy by extending its EGP 500 monthly stipend for informal workers till the end of the year,  disbursing export subsidies.
   
• The post-Covid-19 recovery will be infrastructure-led to achieve a long-term transformation of the economy due its immense potential for job creation and helping the most vulnerable in society be more resilient to future shocks, Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the World Bank, Rania Al Mashat said. According to World Bank data, renewable energy projects ensure long-term job creation than fossil fuel projects and are also cost competitive. Additionally, the International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that investment in renewable energy could add almost $100 trillion to global GDP by 2050, which manifests the significance to prioritize the sector in economic recovery. The minister added that currently there are over 42 projects worth $6,354 million are implemented for the achievement of Goal 9 for industry, innovation and infrastructure. (18/10)
   
• Egypt could lose out this year on tourism and remittances revenues worth more than 2% and 5% of its GDP respectively, due to low economic activity and global travel restrictions, said the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A UNWTO survey expects tourism demand to start recovering only in 2021. (5.08)
   
• Egypt could lose out on more than 3% of its GDP — equivalent to USD 7.7 bn — if international tourism remains at a standstill for four months, according to a report (pdf) from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). This is the most optimistic scenario put forward by the UN body: Under the ‘intermediate’ scenario where tourism dries up for eight months, Egypt would lose around 6% of GDP (USD 15.3 bn) while in the doomsday scenario that tourism is suspended for an entire year the Egyptian economy would lose 9% (USD 22.9 bn).
   
• The IMF expected Egypt’s GDP growth to reach 2.8 percent in 2021, according to its World Economic Outlook report.
   
• The IMF expected Egypt’s current account balance to amount to -4.3 percent of GDP in 2020 and 4.5 percent of GDP in 2021.
   
• Government again cuts growth outlook for FY2020-2021: The government has revised downward its growth outlook for FY2020-2021 to 2% from 3.5% should the covid-19 pandemic continue into December, according to a statement by Planning Minister Hala El Said . Growth projections for the coming year had already been lowered less than two weeks ago to 3.5% from 4.5% based on the assumption that the crisis would abate by June. GDP figures will be cut by another 30% if it extends past that point, El Said said at the time.
   
• Private sector investment could also fall by up to 30% in FY2020-2021 if the crisis persists until December, El Said said. The government still expects around EGP 740 bn in total investments in the coming year, helped by the 33% increase in state investment to EGP 281 bn allocated in the draft FY2020-2021 budget.

Employment rates:

• 2.3 mn people lost their jobs earlier this year thanks to covid (most of them in manufacturing, construction and food service), underscoring why the Madbouly government is being careful in its response this winter.
   
• Menoufiya Governor Ibrahim Abo Lamon has issued a decision to reduce the number of employees in all governorate offices by 25 percent of the total in light of the spread of the coronavirus.
   
• Egypt’s unemployment rate returned to pre-pandemic levels in 3Q2020, falling to 7.3% after the government eased lockdown restrictions in late June, according to figures from the state statistics agency Capmas. Unemployment stood at 7.8% in the same quarter of last year and hit a near two-year high of 9.6% in 2Q2020 as the covid-19 pandemic weighed on business conditions.
   
• Egypt's Unemployment Rate Rises to 9.6% in Q2 2020 Due to Coronavirus, official statistics agency CAPMAS announced. CAPMAS attributed the rise in unemployment to the coronavirus pandemic and partial lockdown measures imposed by the government to stem the spread of the virus, including a nighttime curfew and a suspension of schools and flights. The pandemic heavily affected the retail and wholesale sectors, which shed 624,000 jobs in the second quarter of the year. It has also taken its toll on manufacturing industries, food, accommodation, transportation and construction. (17.08)
   
• The report expected unemployment rates in Egypt to hit 10.3 percent in 2020 and to increase to 11.6 percent in 2021, after having fallen  to 8.6 percent in 2019. (For more information, check https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/EGY)

Inflation

• Egypt’s annual urban inflation accelerated to 3.7% in September, up marginally from 3.4% in August — the lowest level since 2005, according to calculations made from state statistics agency Capmas figures. Inflation has continued to ease over the past two months from 4.2% in July as food prices resume their decline on a monthly basis. Urban and rural food and beverage prices fell 3.5% y-o-y in September and 0.6% m-o-m. (10/10)
   
• The annual core inflation rate reached 3.3 percent in September, up from 0.8 percent in August, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) said in a statement. (12/10)
   
• On a monthly basis, inflation recorded 107.5 points in September 2020, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) said. (12/10)
   
• The sustainable development plan for 2020/2021 expected the inflation rate to increase to 9.8 percent if coronavirus crisis continued until December 2020. (12/10)
   
• According to IMF Egypt’s annual average consumer price inflation rate is expected to reach 5.9 percent in 2020 and rise to 8.2 percent in 2021.

• The following links help you to ensure a safe return back to office:
  • Start here with the Harvard Business Review’s 5 tips for safely reopening your office,
  • The CDC does also provide very detailed strategies for employers planning on resuming work in their offices. 
     
• Work policies: Enterprise surveyed 16 major Egyptian companies, asking about their Work-from-home policies. More than half of the surveyed companies answered that they still rely almost entirely on remote work. Most of them have also opened their offices for every employee preferring to work in the office. Other officers have introduced rotating schedules while some even fully returned to working in the office. (12.07)

• All potential coronavirus patients and carriers in Egypt are strongly advised to notify the Ministry of Health and Population by calling 105 or 15335 for specific instructions on how to proceed or manage the disease depending on the severity of their symptoms and medical history.
   
• Your doctor might recommend over the counter pain relievers or cough medication. If you can’t access a healthcare professional over the phone, you can find one through healthcare apps such as 7Keema, Pashakeem or Vezeeta, which are offering free medical services for those managing COVID-19 symptoms from home—using the promo code “One4All”—and are available for Android and Apple phones. If you need help identifying your symptoms, you can refer to Vezeeta’s free symptom checker.                                                          
   
• Health experts recommend that patients alert their healthcare provider and seek emergency medical assistance if they develop any of the following symptoms: “trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion or inability to arouse, bluish lips or face,” according to the CDC.

Call 137, 105, 15335 or 123 immediately if you or a loved one develop any of the above symptoms! Additionally, WhatsApp number 01553105105