CAIRO, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Egypt's Sawiris family announced in a statement on Saturday donating 100 million Egyptian pounds (about 6.3 million U.S. dollars) to back the country's efforts in combating the spread of COVID-19.
Sawiris Foundation for Social Development will allocate 40 million pounds to support the daily labors and most distressed families, and 60 million pounds to support the government's precautionary efforts against the novel coronavirus, said the statement.
It added that the foundation cooperates with the Egyptian ministries of health and social solidarity as well as some social organizations "to contribute to meeting the health and economic needs of the Egyptian people at such unprecedented times."
Egyptian business tycoon Naguib Sawiris has been criticized over the past couple of days for his remarks where he expressed impatience and dissatisfaction with the partial lockdown the country is going through, urging that everyday life should come back to normal.
Until Friday night, Egypt has confirmed 985 cases infected with the novel coronavirus, including 66 deaths and 216 recoveries.
Over the past few weeks, the country has temporarily suspended schools, universities and all classes, halted flights, cancelled sports activities, closed entertainment places, stopped mass prayers in mosques and churches and shut down museums and archeological sites over coronavirus worries.
The country further started on March 25 a two-week partial curfew nationwide from early evening to early morning as an essential part of the anti-COVID-19 precautionary measures.
