By Theodore Jones –
Egyptian government has stopped direct flights with a number of southern African countries due to worries over the new COVID-19 variant Omicron.
According to a cabinet statement, the decision was made late Friday during a meeting of Egypt’s ministerial crisis management committee, which is chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, and Eswatini are among the countries whose direct flights have been suspended, according to cabinet spokesman Nader Saad.
Passengers on transit flights from these countries stopping at Cairo International Airport en route to other destinations will be subjected to a short test, with those who test positive being returned home on the same aircraft.
Egyptian Health Ministry, on saturday, urged citizens to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures, such as wearing face masks, observing social distancing and taking COVID-19 vaccine, especially after the appearance of the new variant.
Egypt has launched a mass vaccination campaign as one of the basic precautionary measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Until Friday night, Egypt has reported a total number of 354,836 COVID-19 infections, including 20,237 deaths and 294,903 recoveries.
Xinhua