Egypt will start imposing starting Sunday immediate fines worth 50 Egyptian pounds (approximately $3.16) on anyone caught in public without wearing face masks as the country is currently facing the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The North African country reported 1,407 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total infection tally to 140,878 since the outbreak began in February. It also reported 54 new deaths, bringing the total number of deaths from the virus to 7,741. Egypt has been seeing a second wave of the pandemic since the last week of December, reporting double the number of infections daily. Officials in Egypt said they will exercise "zero tolerance" against people who fail to adhere to preventive measures against the pandemic. Besides the immediate fines, the country will also charge fines in metro and railway stations nationwide on people not wearing face masks. Restaurants and coffee shops not abiding by the state's coronavirus restrictions, which include a limited occupancy rate of 50 percent, will be closed for a week and fined 4,000 pounds ($252.5). Egypt banned New Year's Eve celebrations in an effort to control the spread of the virus amid soaring daily infections.
