File Photo: Parents wearing protective face mask hug their children upon their arrival, at Cairo International Airport (CAI) as Egypt ramps up its efforts to slow the spread the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Cairo, Egypt March 19, 2020. (Photo: Reuters)
A repatriation flight from Washington DC carrying Egyptian passengers arrived in Marsa Alam on Friday, and the passengers on board were placed in a local hotel for a 14-day quarantine.
According to a statement by the tourism ministry, Maged Fawzy, the chairman of the Egyptian Hotel Association, said a hotel in the Red Sea city had received 293 Egyptian passengers and 13 children.
Fawzy said that another hotel in the city would receive other Egyptian passengers returning from the US, adding that the designated hotels had been disinfected and sterilised before their arrival.
He added that the returning passengers had undergone medical check-ups upon their arrival at Marsa Alam airport by health ministry medical specialists and upon arrival at the hotels.
On Thursday, EgyptAir changed the destination of the repatriation flight from Washington to Marsa Alam instead of Cairo.
The government has decided to quarantine all Egyptians returning to the country from abroad, and is requiring returnees to sign a written acknowledgement that they agree to the quarantine before boarding their flights.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi decided on Wednesday that the costs of their stay at hotels will be funded by the state.
Egypt recorded its highest daily increase in new cases on Thursday, at 86 new cases, bringing the total to 865. The death toll now stands at 58.
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