Effective Implementation of Public Health and Social Measures in Egypt: Situational Analysis

Public health and social measures should respond to data about the growth of the epidemic and be implemented in a way that engages communities. Communities should be involved in helping to determine strategies for adapting measures to the local context, protecting livelihoods, and introducing appropriate relief measures to counteract the economic impact of these measures. The government should counter misinformation with appropriate risk communication and engage with communities to ensure voluntary adherence to COVID-19 response measures.

• Egypt has the continent’s second-largest COVID-19 epidemic, according to confirmed cases. The epidemic has doubled in the past 14 days, which could indicate slowing growth; however recent daily reported cases have been high. The high case-fatality rate indicates that the scale of the epidemic may be larger than detected cases suggest.
• Schools are closed, non-essential government business suspended and public and religious gatherings banned; a stay-at-home order was in place from April 3-10.
• Egypt is planning to chart a way to relax measures after the end of Ramadan, adopting a plan to “coexist” with the pandemic and gradually reopen businesses with a review of the situation every two weeks.
• The economic and social impacts of the epidemic will be significant and the government is responding with social assistance measures to reduce the burden.
• According to survey results, awareness of COVID-19 is almost universal, but there are high levels of misinformation about the disease, including stigma and blame directed at ethnic Chinese. Other myths may give Egyptians a false sense of protection, such as the belief that Africans cannot get COVID-19.
• Most survey respondents saw COVID-19 as a problem for the country, but there is surprisingly low personal risk perception given the size of the epidemic, with only 37% of Egyptians surveyed reporting that they are at high risk of contracting the disease.
• The vast majority of Egyptians surveyed said they were satisfied with the government response to date, but distrust of government information is high.
• There have been several security incidents involving police clashes with protesters or mourners. Reports have also shown harassment of health workers, including public accusations of spreading COVID-19, evictions, and being reported to police