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Ahram Online
Egypt’s famed Great Pyramid was bejewelled on Monday evening with messages of unity and solidarity with those battling the novel coronavirus.
“Stay safe”, “Stay at home” and “Thank you to those keeping us safe” flashed in blue and green lights across the towering structure at the Giza plateau, southwest of the capital Cairo.
Egypt has registered 656 COVID-19 cases, including 41 deaths and 150 reported recoveries.
“The tourism sector is one of the most affected industries, but our priority is health”, said tourism and antiquities minister Khaled al-Anani; speaking at the site.
Senior antiquities ministry official Mostafa al-Waziri thanked “all the medical staff who help to keep us safe”.
Egypt has carried out sweeping disinfection operations at archaeological sites, museums and other sites across the country.
In tandem, strict social distancing measures were imposed to reduce the risk of contagion among the country’s 100 million citizens. Tourist and religious sites are shuttered, schools closed, and air traffic halted.
Authorities declared a night-time curfew, threatened penalties, including fines and even prison.
The Interior ministry said, “hundreds were arrested for violating curfew orders”. It was not immediately clear if they were later released.
The World Health Organization has commended Egypt’s response to the pandemic as “strong and adapted to the situation”.
“Over 727,000 people have been infected and more than 35,000 have died worldwide”, according to a tally compiled by AFP.
