Egypt tightens sanctions for those who refuse to wear protective masks
Egypt’s parliament approved a new bill that punishes citizens with imprisonment or a fine if they refuse to bury coronavirus victims or wear protective masks.
CAIRO — On April 22, the Egyptian parliament approved a draft law that Mohamed al-Amary, head of the parliament’s Health Affairs Committee, submitted to amend some provisions of the 1958 Law No. 137 regarding health precautions to prevent infectious diseases, in context of the country's precautionary measures taken to guard against the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaker of parliament Ali Abdel Aal said parliament approved the draft and sent it to the State Council for review. It will then need President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s ratification before it is published in the Official Gazette.
On April 23, Amary said in a phone conversation with Egyptian media correspondent Wael el-Ibrashi that parliament’s Health Affairs Committee approved the amendments, which punish those who refuse to bury COVID-19 fatalities or wear masks outside their houses.
Dozens of villagers gathered in a cemetery in the Shubra al-Bahou village in Dakahlia governorate on April 11 and prevented a family from burying a doctor who died of COVID-19.
