Syrian refugees abide by Egypt's measures to limit Coronavirus spread

(Eqtsad)- Egyptian authorities along with the UN refugees agency (UNHCR) in Egypt and other organizations have taken precautionary measures to limit its spread.

According to the UNHCR, there are currently over 129,000 Syrian refugees in Egypt, where there are over 536 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and so far 30 deaths have been recorded.

Syrian refugees in Egypt expressed their fears and anxiety on social media, but soon enough, they turned to posts about medical and health awareness.

Wafa Halabi, who lives in the Nasr city, said that, “At first, many of us did not take it seriously, but with the speed of reports of infection we became alarmed by the disease and its spreading rate. However, with the government’s decisions, we felt more secure. A large number of Egyptians and Syrians started taking preventative measures, leaving the house only out of necessity. We have also witnessed individual social initiatives to help any Syrian person who needs help buying and delivering essentials, as well as other volunteering work.” Wafa said that during the past week she noticed that all materials in the markets and pharmacies are available, from groceries to sanitizers and masks, and without any inflation.

Nearly 607,000 people have now been confirmed with the coronavirus globally, and while at least 134,500 people have recovered from COVID-19, more than 27,670 have died, according to data from the World Meters.

Khaled Mohamed, owner of a clothing company and a store in the city of 6th of October, said, “Their state of fear among people did, in fact, affect sales. Most people are stocking on food, medicine, disinfectants, and detergents, and the remaining markets are declining, especially clothing stores and restaurants. So far, workers have not been laid off by factory owners or shops and restaurants. Hopefully, this crisis will end soon so that we do not reach that stage, especially since this is a global crisis and the global markets are already at risk with exports threatening to stop.”

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The UNHCR in Egypt has reduced its activities and postponed most of the interviews and for dealing with all protection, reception and counseling services its asked the Syrian refugees to contact the agency through telephones, e-mails and the UNHCR helpline in Greater Cairo and other governorates on 20227285699 and in Alexandria and Lower Egypt governorates on 20225990800, or through email to [email protected].

EQTSAD