Traditional march TWENTY people who were arrested for breaking the curfew and for not complying with the state's measures to curb the spread of coronavirus were released on Saturday. They were detained for marching on the streets to mark the start of Ramadan. Video footage that went viral on social media showed crowds gathering in Alexandria's Moharram Bel last week Thursday carrying a model of the Kaaba and touring the streets. The defendants were set free by the general prosecution after paying LE500 in bail. The defendants had told the prosecution that the march was an Alexandrian tradition dating back 60 years. The march started from Sami Al-Baroudi Street and the surrounding areas at 8pm, the start of the night-time curfew. In videos shared across social media, members chanted “God is Great... there is no corona”. On Sunday, Egypt registered 215 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number to 4,534, including 317 deaths.
Phone bills delayed EGYPT's telecommunication company Telecom Egypt extended the payment of January and April landline bills to mid-June owing to the nationwide coronavirus outbreak. Clients can pay bills through the company's website, the “My WE” application, or on “WE Pay”. According to WE's CEO and Managing Director Adel Hamed, the decision was made to “ease customer burdens”. Hamed added that preventive measures are in place in its centres, including ventilated waiting areas, dealing with clients one at a time and maintaining a safe distance between clients and service providers. WE has a monopoly on landlines in the country. The company has a fixed-line subscriber base in excess of six million subscribers.
Two more special flights THE MINISTRY of Civil Aviation will arrange for two special flights on 1 May and 3 May to bring back stranded Egyptians in Washington because of the suspension of flights due to the coronavirus. The flights will journey to the coastal city of Marsa Alam on 3 May and 5 May respectively. At one Marsa Alam hotel, passengers will spend a 14-day quarantine period, an obligatory measure taken with Egyptians coming from abroad. Egyptians wishing to return must sign an avowal stating that upon arrival in Egypt, they will be quarantined in a place determined by the Health Ministry for 14 days. Anyone refusing to sign will be barred from boarding a flight back to Egypt. Stranded Egyptians are defined as those who temporarily visited another country, whether for tourism or a medical procedure. Those who participated in a conference or a business venture are also included, as well as students stuck abroad after the end of their academic semesters.
Commercial banned THE CONSUMER Protection Agency (CPA) on Sunday banned a new television commercial by underwear retailer Cottonil for violating social customs and public morals. The CPA noted that the commercial also violates the consumer protection law, the standard specification for advertising requirements for goods and services, and the Egyptian penal code. The CPA added that it had summoned Cottonil's board of directors to inform them of the decision. Cottonil announced that it had indefinitely halted the broadcast of the commercial on all television channels, saying the company takes into consideration the taste of its audience. The commercial, which stars Jordanian actress Mais Hamdan, was shown on TV for two days before it was banned after sparking controversy on social media. This is not the first time that the CPA has banned Cottonil television commercials, with similar decisions having been taken for the same reasons over the last few years.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 30 April, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under headline: United we stand
