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Egypt Adopts Flexible Mechanism at Schools amid COVID-19 Outbreak

High school students wearing protective masks wait in line during the first day of final exams, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
High school students wearing protective masks wait in line during the first day of final exams, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Egypt Adopts Flexible Mechanism at Schools amid COVID-19 Outbreak

High school students wearing protective masks wait in line during the first day of final exams, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
High school students wearing protective masks wait in line during the first day of final exams, amid concerns over the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Cairo, Egypt June 21, 2020. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egypt's Ministry of Education has adopted a flexible mechanism at schools amid mounting concerns regarding the novel coronavirus, only days before the beginning of the new academic year in the country.

Egyptian Deputy Minister of Education for Teacher Affairs said on Sunday that those in charge are allowed to make the necessary changes for the academic year depending on the conditions of every governorate, however, without affecting the course of the curriculum.

Dr. Reda Hegazy aksi stressed commitment to the handbook issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Education. The handbook includes all precautionary measures that have to be applied to protect students during the academic year 2020-2021. The Ministry of Education also ordered the closure of any educational institution that registers COVID-19 cases.

The official underscored that cooperation among everyone is essential to maintain students’ health, noting that the ultimate goal is to guarantee a successful educational year amidst these exceptional conditions.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population announced that 45 recovered from the virus and were discharged from the hospital after receiving needed medical care.

Meanwhile, up to 129 new cases were confirmed while 12 deaths were recorded.

The new number brought the caseload of COVID-19 cases in Egypt on Sunday to 104,516, including 97,688 recoveries and 6,052 deaths.

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Sudanese City Pounded as Analysts Report 'Unprecedented' Combat

Displaced Sudanese in front of their tent at a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) camp in Gallabat on the Ethiopian border -- the UN says millions of people have been uprooted by Sudan's war - AFP
Displaced Sudanese in front of their tent at a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) camp in Gallabat on the Ethiopian border -- the UN says millions of people have been uprooted by Sudan's war - AFP
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Sudanese City Pounded as Analysts Report 'Unprecedented' Combat

Displaced Sudanese in front of their tent at a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) camp in Gallabat on the Ethiopian border -- the UN says millions of people have been uprooted by Sudan's war - AFP
Displaced Sudanese in front of their tent at a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) camp in Gallabat on the Ethiopian border -- the UN says millions of people have been uprooted by Sudan's war - AFP

Heavy fighting on Saturday shook a Sudanese city besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), witnesses told AFP, as US researchers reported unprecedented and escalating combat in the North Darfur state capital.

El-Fasher is one of five state capitals in Sudan's western Darfur region and the only one not in the hands of the RSF, who have been battling the regular army since April 2023.

The United Nations says the war across much of Sudan has created the world's largest displacement crisis, with millions uprooted, and has led to famine at a displacement camp near El-Fasher.

Darfur has seen some of the war's worst atrocities, and the RSF has besieged El-Fasher since May.

"Neighbourhoods are completely deserted and all you can hear are explosions and missiles," Ibrahim Ishaq, 52, told AFP.

"The central market area has become unliveable because of the intensity of the explosions," said Ishaq, who fled westward from the city on Friday.

Witnesses reported army bombardment south and east of the city on Saturday and said they heard air-defence batteries firing.

The Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab said in a report Friday that its analysis confirmed "unprecedented large-scale combat operations" in El-Fasher within the previous 10 days, "with significant escalation in the past 36 hours" involving both the army and the RSF.

It cited reports that describe "a major multidirectional RSF attack from the northern, eastern, and southern directions" on Thursday.

- 'Reduce to rubble' -

Darfur governor Mini Minawi had on Thursday said on social media platform X that the army had repelled "a large attack" by the RSF. However, RSF said they seized military sites in El-Fasher.

Using satellite imagery and other data, the Yale researchers said they found munition impacts "likely related to high-tempo aerial bombardment" from the regular army, but said other structural damage resulted from "RSF bombardment" and combat activity by both sides.

Whatever the battle's ultimate outcome, current levels of fighting "are likely to effectively reduce what is left of El-Fasher to rubble", the Yale study said.

The United States special envoy for Sudan, Tom Perriello, on Saturday said on X: "We are extremely concerned about the RSF's renewed attacks."

He urged the RSF "to stop its assault".

It was not immediately possible to determine the number of victims.

Sudan's war has already killed tens of thousands of people, with some estimates as high as 150,000, according to Perriello.

In the capital Khartoum on Saturday, around 800 kilometres (500 miles) from El-Fasher, witnesses reported heavy explosions and strikes to the city's south.

Independent UN experts earlier this month appealed for deployment of an "impartial force" to be urgently deployed in Sudan for civilian protection.

Sudan's foreign ministry, loyal to the army, rejected the idea.