{"id":569903,"date":"2020-03-11T04:16:40","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T04:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/03\/11\/what-were-tracking-on-11-march-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-03-11T04:16:40","modified_gmt":"2020-03-11T04:16:40","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-11-march-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/03\/11\/what-were-tracking-on-11-march-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 11 March 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> PSA- Schools are off tomorrow, but not because of El Corona: <\/strong>Schools and universities are off nationwide on Thursday after the national weather service forecast<\/a> that sandstorms and heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning are expected to hit the country, the cabinet announced in a statement<\/a>. Showers are expected to continue through the weekend.<\/p>\n

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY #1: Nearly half Egypt\u2019s covid-19 cases have recovered:<\/strong> Twenty-six of Egypt\u2019s 59 confirmed covid-19 cases appear to have recovered, turning out negative tests after receiving medical care, the Health Ministry announced yesterday<\/a>. Meanwhile, 48 foreign tourists held in quarantine from a Nile cruise boat in Luxor were released and travelled back to their countries yesterday after testing negative for the virus, while another 35 have been cleared for travel today, it added<\/a>. Egypt reported no new cases yesterday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY #2:<\/strong> There was actually some green on trading screens<\/strong> yesterday.<\/strong> The EGX30 is back out of bear territory after the index finished yesterday\u2019s session up 2%. Trading was moderately heavy at EGP 774 mn (30% above the trailing 90-day average) as investors seemed to buy the dip after a torrid sell-off on on Monday that saw stocks plunge more than 7%<\/a>. Index heavyweight CIB closed more than 3% in the green.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t expect a return to normalcy just yet:<\/strong> Asian stocks were mixed and US equity futures were all at least 2% in the red at the time of dispatch, signalling another turbulent day on Wall Street.<\/p>\n

Sporting events on hold: <\/strong>The Sports Ministry is putting on hold all sports events and \u201cyouth gatherings\u201d after the government suspended large public gatherings earlier this week<\/a> to curb the growing number of infections, the cabinet announced yesterday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AmCham has postponed its monthly luncheon due to take place this Thursday<\/strong> as a precautionary measure against the covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n

Schools have not been cancelled for the rest of the year<\/strong>, the Education Ministry said<\/a> yesterday<\/a>, and if classes were to be suspended, students will have to finish their coursework from home. A cabinet spokesman hit the airwaves last night<\/a> to underscore that while the government is closely monitoring the situation, suggestions classes were being cancelled are just rumours.<\/p>\n

The effects of covid-19 on Egypt\u2019s tourism industry is leading the conversation in the<\/strong> foreign press this morning:<\/strong> Pieces in the New York Times<\/a> and AFP<\/a> ask what we can expect the impact on Egypt\u2019s tourism industry to be and whether enough is being done to contain the health risk in the face of promoting Egypt as a tourist destination. Meanwhile, the Associated Press<\/a> talks to a Florida family who were among those quarantined on the Nile cruise ship in Luxor over the weekend.<\/p>\n

Tourism companies told to monitor symptoms: <\/strong>The Egyptian Travel Agents Association is also taking measures of its own and has required its members to report tourists that show any symptoms of rising fever, the local press reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In miscellaneous Egypt-related covid-19 news:<\/p>\n