Egypt Urges Providing Proper Medical Care for Patients With Chronic Illnesses

Students walk past a building at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt February 12, 2020. Picture taken February 12, 2020. REUTERS/Shokry Hussien
Students walk past a building at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt February 12, 2020. Picture taken February 12, 2020. REUTERS/Shokry Hussien
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Egypt Urges Providing Proper Medical Care for Patients With Chronic Illnesses

Students walk past a building at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt February 12, 2020. Picture taken February 12, 2020. REUTERS/Shokry Hussien
Students walk past a building at Cairo University in Cairo, Egypt February 12, 2020. Picture taken February 12, 2020. REUTERS/Shokry Hussien

Egypt’s Ministry of Health and Population has stressed that patients with chronic illnesses should receive health care equally as COVID-19 patients. The Ministry also urged Egyptians to use face masks to avoid contracting the virus.

Meanwhile, Egyptian State Minister of Information Osama Haikal said on Thursday that he has decided to self-isolate after coming into contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

"Due to contact with an individual who has been infected with the coronavirus, I decided to self-isolate at home for several days," the minister said, as quoted by the ministry on its Facebook page.

Haikal is the third Egyptian minister to self-isolate following Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Assem al-Gazzar, who decided to self-isolate for 14 days after contacting a coronavirus patient, in addition to Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Ati.

Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed said that outpatient clinics have been opened at hospitals across the nation to follow up with COVID-19 carriers who are in critical condition.

Egypt also announced plans to resume both domestic and international flights next month with countries that have opened their airports.

All airports in the country would reopen on July 1, Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar said.

The Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism held a meeting on Wednesday and discussed challenges facing the region’s tourism sector due to the new coronavrius pandemic.

For his part, Minister of Tourism Khaled el-Anani said that tourism ministers all over the world should work together to protect the industry and maintain its contribution to national economies and the job opportunities it provides for millions of people.



Yemen's Houthis Say They Will Only Target Israeli-linked Vessels after Gaza Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
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Yemen's Houthis Say They Will Only Target Israeli-linked Vessels after Gaza Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

Yemen's Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israeli-linked ships after the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, according to the Yemen-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center.
The HOCC, which liaises between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators, said in an email sent to shipping industry officials dated Jan. 19 that it was stopping "sanctions" against vessels owned by US or British individuals or entities, as well as ships sailing under their flags.
"We affirm that, in the event of any aggression against the Republic of Yemen by the United States of America, the United Kingdom ... the sanctions will be reinstated against the aggressor," the email said. "You will be promptly informed of such measures should they be implemented."
The HOCC said they would stop targeting Israeli-linked ships "upon the full implementation of all phases of the agreement".
Many of the world's biggest shipping companies have suspended shipping through the Red Sea and have diverted their vessels around southern Africa to avoid being attacked.
The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023 and sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers. The Houthis have targeted the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which are joined by the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait, a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
Hamas released three Israeli hostages in Gaza and Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the first day of a ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war that has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East.