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Egypt Reports Highest Daily Virus Toll

A police officer wearing a protective face mask stands guard next to a statue called ‘Egypt's Renaissance’ during Ramadan, in Giza, May 16, 2020.(Reuters)
A police officer wearing a protective face mask stands guard next to a statue called ‘Egypt's Renaissance’ during Ramadan, in Giza, May 16, 2020.(Reuters)
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Egypt Reports Highest Daily Virus Toll

A police officer wearing a protective face mask stands guard next to a statue called ‘Egypt's Renaissance’ during Ramadan, in Giza, May 16, 2020.(Reuters)
A police officer wearing a protective face mask stands guard next to a statue called ‘Egypt's Renaissance’ during Ramadan, in Giza, May 16, 2020.(Reuters)

Egypt on Tuesday registered 720 new coronavirus cases, the health ministry said in a statement, its highest daily toll since detecting the first confirmed case in February.

The new cases brought the total infections to 13,484 cases, the ministry added in a statement.

The country's former daily record was 535 cases on Monday.

Egypt recorded 14 deaths on Tuesday, the statement said bringing the total fatalities to 659. Nearly 3,750 people recovered and discharged from isolation hospitals.

Egypt extended a halt to all international passenger flights to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said in a statement on Tuesday.

Flights at Egyptian airports were suspended on March 19, and the stoppage will continue until further notice, the statement said.

The country will bring forward the start of its curfew by four hours to 5 pm and halt public transport from May 24 for six days during the Eid al-Fitr holiday, as it seeks to curb the outbreak.

Eid al-Fitr, which begins on the weekend, marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

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Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Türkiye criticized the support provided by some of its allies in NATO to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

 

“The countries we have problems with... are America, England, and a little bit with France,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a televised interview on Monday.

 

He added: “The United States maintains its presence there, and we are putting this problem on the agenda at all levels... Türkiye is continuing the highest level of diplomacy possible” as “it can no longer live with such a reality.”

 

The foreign minister went on to say: “We carry more sensitivity in our fight against the PKK than you (the US and the UK) do in your fight against terrorism, just on the other side of our border. It is out of the question for us to engage in any negotiations here.”

 

On the other hand, Fidan considered that stopping the armed conflict between the Syrian army and the opposition is currently the main “achievement” of his country and Russia.

 

“The most important thing that we were able to achieve in Syria along with the Russians is that there is no war currently between the army and the opposition, and the Astana negotiations and others made that possible at the present time,” he stated.

He added that Damascus needs to “use this period of calm wisely, as an opportunity to return millions of Syrians who have fled abroad to rebuild their country and revive its economy.”

 

The minister revealed that he discussed this matter during his recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

 

“We are studying this matter. The return of refugees is important,” Fidan said, adding: “We want the Syrian government to exploit this period of calm, rationally... as an opportunity to solve constitutional problems and achieve peace with the opposition. But we do not see that Damascus is benefiting from this sufficiently.”