Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Tuesday ordered the renewal for three months of a long-running state of emergency, citing health and security concerns. The country has been under a state of emergency since April 2017 when twin church bombings claimed by an Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) affiliate group killed dozens of people.

The new extension comes as the government battles to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the Arab world’s most populous country.

The Health Ministry has so far recorded 4,782 coronavirus cases in the population of 100 million. Of those, 337 have died while 1,236 have recovered, AFP said.

The state of emergency gives police broad powers of arrest and detention and curtails constitutional rights such as freedom of speech and assembly. Last week, parliament had reportedly approved amendments to the emergency law expanding the president’s powers to curb the virus’ spread.

Source: RT