The Suez Canal General Authority implemented a set of precautionary measures to protect it from the novel coronavirus.
The Authority distributed pamphlets on the virus' symptoms and preventive measures at its main facilities and hospitals. It also assigned a team to contact ships crossing the waterway and explain the measures ensuring their implementation.
Egypt stressed the importance of carefully dealing with vessels that were previously reported of carrying suspected cases among their crew members through coordination with the Quarantine Department of the Health Ministry, after taking necessary measures such as conducting a full medical exam of the crew.
These ships must be given a certificate proving that they are free of infectious diseases.
The government also denied admitting any cases of coronavirus in Suez Canal Authority hospitals, but said that General Hospital of Suez Canal – Ismailia received a woman suffering from some symptoms, such as fever and shortness of breath, after returning from Saudi Arabia where she performed Umrah rituals.
Authorities indicated that necessary measures and tests were done and sent to the central laboratories of the Ministry of Health awaiting results, adding that the patient was placed under observation.
The flu-like virus emerged late last year in the central city of Wuhan, where it is believed to have originated in an illegal wildlife market.
Since then, the virus has been declared a global emergency and spread to more than two dozen other countries and regions.
The new coronavirus has killed 722 people in China’s mainland and infected more than 34,000, according to China's National Health Commission.
