São Paulo – Egypt’s hotels that already have hygiene safety certificates to reopen will be allowed to increase their occupancy cap to 50% as of Monday (8), Al Ahram newspaper reported based on information disclosed by the country’s Tourism and Antiquities Ministry.
Hotel services had been closed to the public since March, along with other measures put in place by the government to contain the coronavirus pandemic. However, over the past two weeks, hotels have been allowed to reopen to local guests at 25% capacity and under specific requirements, including acquiring health safety certificates. Last month, 78 out of 172 hotels that submitted requests received the health safety certificate.
The average occupancy rate at hotels reached 8% in South Sinai, 13% in the Red Sea governorate, 25% in Suez’s Ain Sokhna city, 25% in Alexandria, and 9% in Greater Cairo. The tourism industry, one of Egypt’s main sources of hard currency, has been significantly affected by the outbreak.
However, reopened hotels are not permitted to hold events or overnight activities. Their restaurants can only serve pre-set menus, as buffet services are banned, and dining tables should be set at a safe distance. A facility is to be allocated for isolating confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases.
According to Al Ahram, after the partial resumption, only one case was detected at one resort with a lower occupancy in the Red Sea governorate. Egypt has recorded 24,985 coronavirus cases and 959 fatalities since March.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
