Several governors of Egypt's 27 governorates, including the capital, have already issued directives on Friday to close public parks and beaches ahead of the Sham El-Nessim celebration as the country has witnessed a surge in coronavirus cases. Egyptians celebrate Sham El-Nessim as one of the oldest annual occasions after Easter Sunday. This year, it comes on Monday 3rd May and it will also be a public holiday. Especially before the coronavirus pandemic, Egyptian families used to get together and head to parks, beaches and other public places to share food and enjoy the open air. Governors of Cairo, Alexandria, Qalyoubia, Damietta and Sohag all issued directives to close public parks and beaches as part of the state's strategy to curb the coronavirus spread as well as maintain the safety of its citizens. Egypt is currently suffering from a third coronavirus wave and new daily cases rose above 1,000, in the past three days, for the first time since 9 January. Health Minister Hala Zayed said on Saturday that a spike in coronavirus cases throughout April has been expected due to religious occasions and related social habits. Zayed also said that the third wave is globally seeing a rise of 10 percent while there is a seven percent rise in infections and deaths, respectively, more than the previous waves. Unlike last year, when the first wave of the pandemic was met with a night-time curfew, the ongoing third wave sees shops and malls open to 11pm on weekdays and at midnight during weekends, while coffee shops and restaurants remain open from 5pm to 1am throughout the week. So far, Egypt has reported 226,531 infections and 13,278 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic .