On June 16, 2022, Dr. Mostafa Kamal Madbouly, Egypt’s prime minister and chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Management of the Epidemic and Health Pandemic Crisis (Supreme Committee) issued Resolution No. 2 of 2022, repealing all previous restrictions imposed on the entry of Egyptians and foreigners into the country during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resolution was published in Egypt’s Official Gazette on the same day.
Article 1 of Resolution No. 2 of 2022 cancelled all the COVID-19 entry restrictions previously imposed under article 7 of the Supreme Committee’s Resolution No. 1 of 2021, which the prime minister had issued on December 8, 2021. The 2021 resolution established a number of measures to combat the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19. These included prohibiting Egyptians and foreigners from entering the country unless they had received all necessary COVID-19 vaccinations or could submit a negative result of a PCR test. It was permissible to perform PCR tests for tourists and individuals arriving at Egyptian airports.
Additionally, the 2021 resolution required Egyptian citizens to wear a facemask while using public and private transportation, as well as in government buildings and open public places where social distancing could not be achieved. The facemask mandate further applied to places of worship, banks, companies, associations, public stores, commercial centers, cinemas, theaters, culture houses, sports and country clubs, youth centers, markets, schools, academic institutes, and universities.
Resolution No. 2 of 2022 did not repeal the facemask requirement provided in article 1 of the 2021 resolution. Article 2 of the new resolution states that besides the entry restriction, the rest of the anti-COVID-19 measures contained in the Supreme Committee’s resolutions are still in effect.