EgyptAir repatriation flight from Washington to Marsa Alam instead of Cairo

EgyptAir has changed the destination of a repatriation flight coming from Washington DC on Friday morning to Marsa Alam airport instead of Cairo airport, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.

The 300 passengers on board will be placed in quarantine for 14 days in a hotel in the city of Marsa Alam in Red Sea governorate.

The government has decided to quarantine all Egyptians returning to the country from abroad, and is requiring returnees to sign a written acknowledgement that they agree to the quarantine before boarding their flights.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi decided on Wednesday that the costs of their stay at hotels will be funded by the state.

Prime Minister Moustafa Mabouly had stated earlier on Thursday that efforts to repatriate Egyptians stranded abroad have been ongoing since the country suspended international flights to curb the spread of coronavirus on 19 March.

Madbouly said that, at first, the government performed medical check-ups and tests on returnees at airports and asked them to self-isolate for 14 days.

The government discovered, however, that many people have not been committing to self-isolation, and that led to an outbreak in some areas.

Egypt recorded on Thursday its highest daily increase in new cases, as 86 new cases, bringing the total to 865. The death toll now stands at 58.