The government said on Thursday that gyms will reopen nationwide starting Saturday. Gyms have been closed since mid-March as the country had adopted a series of strict preventive measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Thursday's announcement is part of Egypt's plan to relax such measures and to "coexist" with the virus. On Tuesday the government said it will allow restaurants, coffee shops, sporting clubs and places of worship to reopen starting Saturday. It will also lift the nighttime curfew in place since mid-March. The cabinet said in a statement on Thursday that gyms and health clubs will be allowed to operate at a capacity of 25 percent and to open from 6am to 9pm. The relaxed measures come at a time when Egypt is seeing a surge of new coronavirus cases in recent weeks, with 59,561 infections and 2,450 deaths confirmed by the health ministry. Coffee shops and restaurants will be allowed to open at a capacity of 25 percent until 10pm, while shops will be required to close at 9pm instead of the current 6pm. Mosques and churches will also be allowed to reopen for daily prayers and mass services as of Saturday, but will remain closed for the Muslim Friday noon prayers and for Christian Sunday mass. Funeral and wedding halls annexed to places of worship will remain shut nationwide.
