{"id":571593,"date":"2020-05-18T03:56:40","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T03:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/05\/18\/what-were-tracking-on-18-may-2020\/"},"modified":"2020-05-18T03:56:40","modified_gmt":"2020-05-18T03:56:40","slug":"what-were-tracking-on-18-may-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/egypt\/2020\/05\/18\/what-were-tracking-on-18-may-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"What we\u2019re tracking on 18 May 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE<\/strong> STORY OF THE DAY- We\u2019re facing a 5pm-6am curfew for Eid El-Fitr <\/strong>as part of a series of tighter measures in effect next week to curb the spread of the virus that causes covid-19. The state will then begin easing some measures throughout June, Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly said in a speech yesterday.<\/p>\n

It also seems EgyptAir could resume commercial flights early next month<\/strong>, although Cabinet spokesman Nader Saad said only that an official announcement would be made in early June. We have the full story in this morning\u2019s Speed Round, below.<\/p>\n

Did you need a reminder that we\u2019re in the midst of a heat wave? <\/strong>Look for daytime highs of 42-43\u00b0C in the capital city, according to the national weather service (pdf)<\/a>, with a chance of scattered showers this week in Cairo, Sinai and the North Coast, Egyptian Meteorological Authority head Mahmoud Shahin told Ahram Gate<\/a>. The mercury still looks set to fall just in time for the holiday: <\/strong>Look for a daytime high of 32\u00b0C on Saturday (the last day of Ramadan) and 31\u00b0C on Sunday (the first day of Eid).<\/p>\n

So, when do we eat? <\/strong>Maghrib prayers are at 6:43pm and you\u2019ll have until 3:19am to finish caffeinating. Fajr is coming one minute earlier every day through the end of the Holy Month.<\/p>\n

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** You only have a few days left to tell us covid-19 is impacting your business<\/a><\/strong>.<\/strong> We run an annual reader poll asking what you expect of business conditions and the economy in the year ahead. Covid-19 has us thinking that the results of this year\u2019s survey<\/a> need updating. Take a minute and tell us how covid-19 has impacted your business, whether it\u2019s changed your outlook on the economy, and what you think of WFH. W<\/strong>e\u2019ll have the results for you immediately after the Eid.<\/strong><\/p>\n

enterprise<\/p>\n

COVID-19 IN EGYPT-<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a> Egypt has now disclosed a total of 12,229 confirmed cases of covid-19<\/strong> after the Health<\/a>Ministry<\/a>reported<\/a><\/strong> 510 new infections yesterday \u2014 the highest single-day total yet<\/strong>. The ministry also said that another 18 people had died from the virus, taking the death toll to 630. We now have a total of 3,742 confirmed cases that have since tested negative for the virus after being hospitalized or isolated, of whom 3,172 have fully recovered.<\/p>\n

ON THE GLOBAL FRONT-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Covid infections are on the rise in Africa<\/strong>, the New York Times<\/a> notes this morning, singling out Nigeria as \u201cjust one of Africa\u2019s alarming hotspots\u201d and adding that Tanzania and Somalia have also been hard hit. The news comes as some Asian countries are \u201cbattling new clusters of contagion,\u201d <\/strong>the Wall Street Journal<\/a> writes. Among them: China, which has quarantined some 8k people in the country\u2019s northeast.<\/p>\n

enterprise<\/a><\/p>\n

GLOBAL MACRO-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fed chairman Jay Powell sat down with 60 Minutes\u2019 Scott Pelley for a wide-ranging <\/strong>interview<\/strong> on the central bank\u2019s emergency measures, predictions for the US economy, and what has to be done to ensure we end up with a recovery and not the Great Depression Mk II.<\/p>\n

Here are the key takeaways from the interview:<\/p>\n