source: https://www.wishesmsg.com/

The second Ramadan during the covid-19 pandemic is coming to an end and we wish all our Muslim friends a blessed Eid al-Fitr which is this year celebrated between May 12 and 16. This is usually a moment of family gatherings, but authorities are extremely scared that such gatherings could increase covid-19 infections. The pressure on hospitals is great and many hospitals are no longer able to accept covid-19 patients. Those who do charge astronomical high costs for each day in the hospital. The WHO reported that Egypt has had to date 236,272 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 13,845 deaths. This is not a very high number given the fact that Egypt now counts over 100 million inhabitants but many Egyptian medical specialists do not trust the WHO number since the numbers reported come from Egypt’s hospitals but since one-third of population lives below the poverty level of 2$ per person per day and another 40-45% percent lives close to that poverty line many will not go a hospital for testing and many died without anyone knowing whether the cause was covid19 or not.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly [Muṣṭafā Madbūlī] announced for this reason on Wednesday, May 5, that shops, cafes, restaurants, and malls will be closed at 9 pm starting from Thursday May 6, until May 21. Large gatherings such as concerts, weddings, meetings and conferences have been banned. Gardens, parks and public beaches, popular places for visits during the Eid al-Fitr, will completely be closed during Eid al-Fitr holiday.  As for the Eid prayers, worshippers will be able to perform the prayers at mosques with precautionary measures adopted. Children are not allowed to perform the prayers at mosques.

Last Friday a message from Archbishop Mouneer [Munīr] was read in the Anglican St. John the Baptist Church in Maadi, Cairo, cautioning parishioners to adhere to the rules that intend to reduce the spread of covid-19. He referred to the severity of the pandemic in Egypt. The WHO reports that as of 4 May 2021, a total of 1,159,883 vaccine doses have been administered.

We have had no covid-19 cases in our office or learning center. Yet, the covid-19 measures of the government has made us switch several times to zoom lessons but with refugee kids with mostly poor internet connections this is not a success. We loose students this way. The last two years anyhow have been difficult for our learning center because of the frequent closure of schools in Egypt. This will sadly only widen the gap between those who have and those who have not.

We all wish that this pandemic will end as soon as possible but I fear this still may take some time.

Cairo, May 10, 2021

Cornelis Hulsman, Editor-in-Chief