Egypt said it will offer fabric facemasks on ration cards starting July 1, as part of govenment efforts to limit the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the populous country as cases continue to surge. The supply ministry will offer 40 million cloth face masks at a set price of EGP 6 on subsidy cards, it said in a statement on Tuesday. The ministry will determine the number of facemasks to be offered per ration card after setting the best technical specifications to ensure maximum protection against the virus, supply minister Ali Meselhy said. He said providing facemasks have become a “pressing need” amid the outbreak of the highly contagious virus. As of Monday, Egypt has confirmed 46,289 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 1,672 deaths. Around 70 million citizens benefit from the country's food subsidy programme, which includes main and cheap staples of rice, pasta and others. It has been revised multiple time in the past few years in an effort to improve access to those most in need. The announcement by the ministry comes as Egypt started to make wearing facemasks in public places mandatory on May 30 and until further notice, with violators facing hefty fines of up to EGP 4,000 ($247) Facemasks are mandatory for workers or visitors at markets, shops, banks, as well as governmental or private institutions and commuters in both public and private transportation. Egypt said earlier this month that over 100 textile factories would begin manufacturing reusable cloth face masks, to produce 8 million masks per month in the initial phase, which would later be increased to 30 million masks per month.
