Staff at Egyptian Cancer Center Test Positive for Coronavirus

Seventeen members of the medical staff at Cairo’s National Cancer Institute have entered quarantine after testing positive for coronavirus. As a result, the institute was closed for three days to undergo sterilization, removing the key venue for cancer patients seeking treatment in the city of some 9.5 million. Some staff members used social media to criticize what they called lax restrictions at the facility. Egypt has yet to impose some of the stricter measures seen in most other countries in the region, but also around the world. Aside from nightly curfews and closed mosques and sporting venues, there are no official orders for people to remain at home or otherwise practice social distancing, now considered part of the backbone of anti-pandemic efforts. As of Saturday, authorities in the country were reporting 1,070 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 71 fatalities.