Egypt to halt flights from Thursday to stem spread of coronavirus

Egypt will halt all air traffic at its airports from March 19 until March 31 to prevent the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister said on Monday. Egypt will sanitize hotels and tourist sites during the closure, he said in a news conference, adding that tourists now in the country would be able to complete their vacations. He also said local firms in the aviation sector would suffer losses of 2.25 billion Egyptian pounds due to the latest measures. The last plane allowed to depart would leave on March 19 at noon.

Egypt also closed schools and universities for two weeks on Sunday to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The number of cases rose to 150, the information minister said on Monday, up from 126 reported by Sunday. Three people in Egypt have died from the virus.