Cairo: Chairman of Egypt’s election board Lasheen Ebrahim died from the coronavirus a few weeks after he oversaw the country’s legislative polls.
Ebrahim, a senior judge at Egypt’s top Court of Cassation, passed away in a private hospital and was Friday laid to rest in his hometown in Qaliubia, north of Cairo.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry mourned Ebrahim, who supervised Egypt’s 2018 presidential elections, a referendum on constitutional changes last year and the recent parliamentary polls. “He was an example to follow in sincere patriotic work and a judicial landmark,” the ministry said in a statement.
His death comes amid a spike in coronavirus infections and resultant deaths in the country of over 100 million people.
Egyptian lawmaker Hassan Eid Saturday died due to coronavirus, a day after his wife died from the same disease, local media reported.
Eid was a representative of the coastal city of Suez at the recently elected legislature.
Celebrations ban
In recent weeks, Egyptian authorities have stepped up measures against the pandemic, including a ban on New Year’s celebrations.
The government has warned against a surge in virus infections and said it is considering imposing an on-the-spot fine on violators of precautions aimed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
This month, the government adopted several anti-virus measures including scaled-down attendance of civil servants at workplaces and a ban on holding mourning ceremonies and wedding parties in indoor halls.
The Health Ministry confirmed Friday night 1,133 new virus cases and 49 related deaths, taking the country’s total infections to 130,126 and fatalities to 7,309.
