Amr went to open his first store in the middle of a pandemic. And, inspired by the virus that has claimed nearly 300,000 lives worldwide and confined to half Humanity, he had no better idea than to baptize his business, which sells men's clothing "made in China" , with the official name of the disease: Covid-19 .

"I chose the name by chance. I just wanted to get people's attention. And, of course, I have succeeded. It has gone viral and I have even been called from Egyptian television ," he tells EL MUNDO Amr, happy that his nose commercial has earned him, without great effort, his minute of cathodic glory.

The "Covid_19" clothing store is located in the Egyptian city of Port Said , 165 kilometers north of Cairo. The city, with more than 600,000 inhabitants, stretches along the Mediterranean Sea and was established in 1859 during the construction of the Suez Canal. Its street map, with its decadent center of contributed buildings, is scattered between the two banks of the canal, with one foot in Africa and the other in Asia.

From the narrow facade of the premises, escorted by other related businesses, stands out its golden sign with the official name in capital letters. The theme continues in its showcase, split in two. On each side of the entrance, a mannequin dressed in a yellow jumpsuit and equipped with a mask , gloves, protective glasses and disinfection equipment assaults the passer-by. The word "Corona" and the motto "Stay at home" appear in the background.

Instead, Amr has chosen the official name announced in February by the World Health Organization (WHO). Covid-19 is an acronym for "coronavirus disease 2019" . Even then, they wanted to avoid having references to places or species of animals.

Between smiles and "bad faces"

Since it opened its doors a few days ago, Covid_19's claim has spread like wildfire by WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages. "It has gone viral at the present time. If it had been done in another situation, without cases of coronavirus, it would have gone unnoticed," argues Amr, a 36-year-old who, however , feels overwhelmed by the response . "I didn't expect these reactions. It's a very simple idea."

To his relief, the merchant acknowledges that " thousands of rare store names can be seen in Egypt ." "There are some called Viruses or PUBG [PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, the name of an online battle video game]," he says. Inventiveness has at times generated bitter controversy. A few years ago, in the center of Cairo, a small store sold clothes to the taste of young Egyptians under the label " Hitler ".

Not even Amr has now been able to get around the criticism. "The response has been very disparate. There are those who like the name. Some see it as amusing and smile . Others, such as those who have been affected by the coronavirus, may receive it with a bad face, " confesses the merchant. "I only wish the best for everyone. I do not want my store to be a cause of death but just a naive idea to attract attention," he babbles.

Egypt, with 100 million souls, has officially reported 10,431 infections and 556 deaths from coronavirus. Since March, the country - which reported the first case on the African continent in mid-February - has decreed a night touch , reduced since the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Crowds, however, are common during the day, with doctors demanding full confinement to prevent the escalation of infections.

"Trade is not going well but it is not only happening to me but to all businessmen," regrets Amr, who claims to comply with the preventive measures indicated by authorities who, despite the increase in cases, are already studying a de-escalation in three phases. "Many others will follow my lead in the future and end up using the name coronavirus for their business," predicts the visionary merchant.

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