Egypt Reports Coronavirus Case Drop But Still Hasn’t Qualified for European Travel

Egypt reported 703 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the health ministry said, the lowest figure since late May.

In total, 86,474 COVID-19 cases have been reported and 4,188 deaths, including 68 on Friday, the ministry said in a statement.

Egypt reopened resorts to foreign tourists on July 1 after tourism came to a halt in March under measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak. But Egypt has not made it yet to a “safe list” of countries for resumption of non-essential travel to the European Union, which is reviewed every two weeks.

Tourism accounts for 5% of Egypt’s economic output, according to the government. Analysts put the figure as much as 15% if jobs indirectly related to the sector are included.

(Reporting by Mahmoud Mourad and Hesham Abdul Khalek; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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