CAIRO: Egypt’s Ministry of Health confirmed that Egypt is free of the H1N1 virus, despite a scare in Hurghada on Wednesday.
State-run daily Al-Ahram had reported that a 37-year-old Austrian tourist was suspected of carrying virus and so was immediately transferred to the Hurghada Hospital. Her test reportedly came back negative.
The government, however, is still going ahead with its decision to slaughter Egypt’s entire population of pigs, despite criticism by international bodies that the move was misguided and unnecessary.
On Tuesday, a few hundred pigs were found in one of Giza’s main roads, reportedly left there at midnight. It turned out to be a failed attempt to smuggle the pigs.
The Ministry of State for Environmental Affairs on Tuesday announced its plan to build new pig farms away from residential areas.
The ministry’s announcement came on the same day that the Cairo Administrative Court began proceedings in a case filed against the environment ministry by the Human Rights Legal Aid NGO to obstruct its decision to move the pig farms to May 15 City, which they argue is a residential area.
A press statement by the ministry, however, says that the location of the new farms will be at least 30 km away from the inhabited areas.
