Cairo: The Egyptian government has approved a draft law extending the employment of medical doctors who reach retirement age as the country is bracing for a potential second wave of the coronavirus.
The two-year extension applies to 728 doctors, who are still working at the state health institutions, Egyptian media reported Thursday.
The government decision will go into force starting from the next day of the doctor reaching the retirement age.
100 million people
The move comes amid increasing warnings by the government against an anticipated spike in virus infections in Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country of over 100 million people.
This week, President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi called on Egyptians to take seriously the precautions against COVID-19 to avoid reimposing tough restrictions, including a partial curfew, taken against the pandemic outbreak earlier this year.
The government has vowed to enforce fines against people failing to abide by precautions against COVID-19, including the mandatory wearing of protective face masks in public places and on means of transport.
Egypt so far has recorded a tally of 114,107 virus cases and 6,585 related fatalities.