Sudan has closed its land border with Egypt on Friday as the number of coronavirus infections rose, and the country reported its first case resulting from contact.
As an additional precautionary measure, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport of Sudan announced they have closed the border between Sudan and Egypt, reports VisaGuide.World.
The Ashkeet border post between the two countries has been closed to the movement of people, but Sudanese export is still allowed to carry on. However, the ministry has said that the drivers of the vehicles will not be allowed to enter Sudan, and the suppliers are required to provide spraying and pesticides for the imported cargo.
In mid-March, the Sudanese government declared a state of public health emergency and closed all its airports, ports and land crossings as a means of trying to contain the spread of the pandemic. Only shipments carrying humanitarian, commercial and technical support services will be allowed to enter.
Because of the coronavirus travel restrictions in Sudan and worldwide, a large number of Sudanese citizens were left stranded abroad. A group of them stormed the Sudan Embassy in Cairo, Egypt last week, breaking the doors and trying to set fire to the building. They were detained by Egyptian authorities.
However, the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo claims that “the majority of those who committed this heinous and deplorable act are not stranded, but people residing in Cairo. Some of them do not even have travel tickets or passports, which confirms that they are not stranded.”
The Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs temporarily closed its Embassy in Cairo as a result of the attacks.
At the time of Sudan-Egypt border closure, the COVID-19 infection count in Sudan was ten. There have been an additional two cases since then, Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health reported, sending the number to 12, whereas two people have died.