The President is keen to follow up Egypt's preparations to host the World Handball Championship

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On Wednesday, Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly chaired a meeting to review the preventive plan that will be implemented during Egypt's hosting of the events of the Men's Handball World Cup to be held in Egypt from 13-31 January 2021, in the presence of the Minister of Health and Population Dr. Hala Zayed Dr. Ashraf Sobhi, Minister of Youth and Sports, and Dr. Hassan Mustafa, President of the International Handball Federation.

The Prime Minister began the meeting by confirming that Egypt pays great attention to this important event especially that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi is keen to follow up Egypt's preparations to host the tournament and has mandated the government to take all necessary to ensure that this global event is organized in an honorable manner befitting Egypt and its position.

Counselor Nader Saad, the official spokesman for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers said that Madbouly confirmed that the government with all its apparatus is working on the heart of one man to complete the organization in all its details in the best possible way, while paying close attention to preventive measures related to the Covid-19 in order to preserve the health and safety of all Egyptians and foreigners. .

In turn, Dr. Ashraf Sobhi confirmed that the Ministry of Youth and Sports is working in full swing to follow up all the details related to hosting the tournament, whether with regard to stadiums and their readiness or accommodation and transportation hotels as well as medical and preventive measures in coordination with the Ministry of Health.

Dr. Hassan Mustafa, President of the International Handball Federation praised Egypt's distinguished efforts to organize the tournament noting that this is the most important tournament in the field of handball in the world and that he is confident in Egypt's ability to organize it optimally.

The Cabinet spokesperson said that the President of the International Handball Federation praised the Egyptian government's decision last June to resume sporting activity, stressing that it was a bold and wise decision, and without it two Egyptian teams would not have reached the final of the African Champions Club Football Championship.

The Minister of Health indicated that the ministry’s plan in this regard depends on four axes: risk assessment, awareness-raising, implementation of precautionary measures and dealing with suspected cases. Applying routine quarantine procedures to all attendees, raising the level of precautionary measures to deal with the missions of those countries without prejudice to the activities to be held in addition to conducting a PCR test for all delegations upon the arrival of the mission to the residence hotels and repeated every 72 hours.

With regard to the awareness raising axis according to what the minister presented, the Ministry of Health will carry out a number of activities for its implementation by providing training materials and preventive guidance to all participants in the tournament, training all medical teams on the mechanisms of suspected cases and reporting them and determining contact points in each hotel and for each Team by team and the Ministry will provide the scientific material and formulate it in a manner suitable for display on the screens of visual advertisements and train the staff in the hotel, stadiums and administrative bodies participating in the tournament on preventive measures as well as training workers to collect waste in safe ways in which dangerous waste is dealt with.

The Minister of Health indicated that the precautionary measures that will be applied during the tournament include fixing the work force that has direct contact with the sports missions in every hotel or stadium hosting one of the teams until the team’s mission travels, and fixing all kinds of employment in the form of fixed packages with each team throughout the tournament period so that The interaction is limited to certain persons, which limits the spread of infection and facilitates the follow-up process for contacts.

The precautionary measures also include the application of the rules of physical distancing, by dividing the playing field into zones, each area is symbolized by a different color and has specific preventive measures, and the individuals within each color zone are obligated to limit their movement within the space specified for it and to the maximum number allowed, and also includes the procedures for spacing Physical avoidance of crowding at times of training and when attending official matches, and securing spacing at meetings, and in dining rooms, restrooms and residence rooms, so that the percentage of presence does not exceed 25% to 50% of the capacity of these places, and not crowding in buses transporting technical and administrative teams, And the allocation of entry paths other than exit paths from halls and stadiums.

The precautionary measures also include ensuring good ventilation of places, as it must ensure the availability of good ventilation in all places and prefer open spaces when available as a safe alternative, and the procedures also include ensuring that all tournament participants wear a muzzle when in common places, and recommend the use of cups and dishes for single use. When eating or drinking in the room, and making sure not to share clothes and personal tools with others.

Zayed emphasized that among the precautionary measures that will be applied during the tournament, periodic disinfection and the provision of a safe and healthy environment, by providing hotel and stadium administrations with all the requirements for infection control and disinfectants and then regularly disinfecting all public areas and common surfaces, as well as warning about the importance of providing hand sanitizer. In the various places where members of sports missions (hotels - restaurants - stadiums - buses - meeting rooms) are present at all times, and to ensure the availability of personal protective equipment such as masks, alcohol disinfectants and gloves designated for one-time use, and to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of personal protection supplies and their availability at all times .

Zayed addressed the mechanisms of dealing with suspected cases, as the preventive crisis room will be activated to work 24 hours a day to receive reports first-hand from the governorates hosting the tournament, and a rapid response team will be assigned in the event's venue to immediately deal with suspected cases and follow up on those in contact with positive cases, making sure of Availability of appropriate isolation rooms in residence hotels, training and match halls, and the application of all infection control measures to them.

She pointed out that the electronic symptom surveillance system will be activated to activate the precautionary measures immediately, and when simple symptoms appear on one of the participants, the case is medically evaluated and a swab is made to conduct a PCR test and the patient is isolated in his hotel room or isolation room designated for that, and the Ministry of Health and Population will be notified to coordinate regarding Isolate the case in the designated places, while following up on the contacts of the infected person.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Prime Minister was tasked with forming a working group of ministers: youth and sports, health, tourism, transport, and representatives of the International Handball Federation; To search for details of fans' participation proposals, the controls for such participation, as well as the details of accommodation hotels and transfers for the fans of the participating teams.