The paid quarantine infuriates Egyptians abroad ... and the government describes them as selfless, irresponsible

The Egyptian authorities decision to impose quarantine on its expatriate citizens who wish to return, at their own expense, has caused anger among Egyptians working abroad, due to the high costs of quarantine.

On Tuesday, Egypt began implementing the Ministry of Health’s decision on all Egyptian passengers stranded abroad, by subjecting them to quarantine to ensure that they are not infected with the Corona virus.

The Egyptian embassy in Washington said in a statement through its account on Facebook, that the Egyptian authorities decided to apply quarantine procedures for the returnees, by compulsory isolation for a period of 14 days, at the headquarters set by the Ministry of Health at the expense of each traveler.

And local media spoke about a value in the range of one thousand pounds per night per person, which means that whoever returns with his family may be forced to pay nearly fifty thousand pounds in two weeks.

She appealed to the Egyptian Minister of Health, Hala Zayed, who came from outside Egypt and all those involved in positive (infected) cases and their families, to "follow the measures taken by the state and the Ministry of Health and Population instructions for isolation for a period of 14 days, which would contribute to reducing the number of daily injuries and deaths."

Egypt announced that it recorded five additional deaths from the Coronavirus, as well as 54 cases, bringing the number of infections as of Tuesday evening to 710 cases, including the 157 who had recovered and been discharged from the isolation hospital, and 46 deaths.

Formal declaration
Returnees from abroad and expatriates circulated a copy of an acknowledgment that the authorities obligated them to write as a condition for their return, and included their agreement to bear the cost of their stay in a hotel near the airport (5 stars), which they rejected because of the high costs.

It came in the form of the sanitary approval issued by the Ministry of Health, which will be forced by those stranded abroad as a condition to enter the country, to submit to quarantine (at their own expense) upon their arrival in Cairo, as part of the state's plan to combat the spread of the emerging Corona virus.

Activists released a video showing a number of Egyptian citizens returning from the State of Kuwait chanting "We will not go (we will not go to) Al-Hijr".

Others also posted a video clip showing the crowd stuck at Cairo Airport, after coming from London flight, while completing the procedures for entering compulsory quarantine in Egypt.

Mona Munir commented that the trip was characterized by a failure to plan and might cause infection among those coming from Britain, due to the crowding and the long period of detention at the airport, along with some refusing to submit to quarantine at his own expense, which caused the long wait without any precautions to prevent the transmission of infection.

Media attack
With many Egyptians refusing to enter the stone at their own expense, the government went out to attack Egyptians working abroad through the media and accused them of not taking responsibility.

Nader Saad, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said, "The Egyptians returning from Kuwait rejected the quarantine procedures for 14 days and insisted on leaving." We conducted initial checks for the returnees from Kuwait, and they were all negative and we asked them for homelessness, but what happened to them is irresponsible behavior Excessive selfishness and thinking about their people. "

He added, during a phone call to the "Everyday" program presented by Khaled Abu Bakr, on the "ON" channel, "No one will be allowed to board a plane to return to Egypt before signing the approval of the quarantine procedure for 14 days, and the returning citizen will reside in a hotel at his expense at a reduced price Less than 50% of the original price, with free medical service.

He called on businessmen to pay for the expenses of the Egyptians returning from abroad in a hotel designated for isolation.

In turn, the media close to the regime, Ahmed Moussa, launched a major attack on the returnees from Kuwait who refused to submit to quarantine, describing their behavior as selfish.

And Moussa said in his program "On My Responsibility" on Sada Al-Balad TV, "The state is scared of you and protects you and your family, and if the state was returning the returnees (you did not count them), was someone going to blame them (someone blames them?)," "How do some people not want to submit to quarantine and most of them?" Returnees from abroad have caused an increased incidence of Corona. "

"The country is in a crisis, have mercy and care for it, your country needs your support more than ever, and the Minister of Aviation piloted a plane himself to bring back the Egyptians stranded in London."

Anger and rejection
And on the communication sites, many Egyptians expressed their rejection of the government's decision to charge the returnees from abroad the costs of quarantine, stressing that this decision was not issued by any other government in the world.

Others also accused the Egyptian regime of exploiting disasters to collect money from Egyptians returning from abroad, although many of them are workers and cannot afford to stay in 5-star hotels for a period of two weeks.

Others compared the hosting of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to youth from 113 countries in youth conferences held in Sharm El Sheikh at the state's expense, while he now refuses to receive Egyptians working abroad at the expense of their country in light of a global crisis.