Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has called on Egyptians to adhere to preventive measures against COVID-19 to curb the spread of the virus, which the president said “still exists” in the country.

El-Sisi made the statement in a televised speech that took place during a meeting held on Tuesday with high-level officials to review the current situation concerning the coronavirus in Egypt.

“The awareness of citizens is the true vaccine,” the Egyptian president said, calling on citizens to wear facemasks and follow social distancing guidelines.

Sisi also indicated that there is currently an increase in the infection rate, which means that the government should take more strict measures like those implemented during the first wave.

“We had to shut down schools, universities, shops, restaurants and impose a partial curfew. We do not want to repeat the lockdown implemented during the first wave of the coronavirus,” the president said, adding that a lockdown will not be implemented again as long as the public adheres to safety measures.

The president also said that while the pandemic has had a severe impact on the world economy, “it did not impact Egypt as much due to the economic reform programme and how you, the citizens, have handled it.”

Egypt has allocated EGP 100 billion to contain the COVID-19 outbreak and provide stimulus packages for various sectors hit by the pandemic.

El-Sisi also said that the COVID-19 awareness campaigns must continue.

Egypt has so far registered 113,381 cases of coronavirus, including 101,981 fully recovered patients and 6,560 fatalities.

El-Sisi added in his speech that while Egypt is working on its own vaccine, it will still acquire vaccines that were announced recently.

El-Sisi said that the state has dealt with the coronavirus pandemic in a calm manner in order not to alarm citizens, and that many countries appreciate and study the Egyptian experience in managing the crisis. He also praised the efforts of all medical staff in safeguarding Egyptians against the virus.

Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Health Minister Hala Zayed, Higher Education Minister Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar, Presidential Advisor for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din and Chairman of the Egyptian Authority for Unified Procurement Bahaa El-Din Zidane were present in the meeting.

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