On Monday, the Sudanese Ministry of Health reported 10 new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19), bringing the total number of cases in the country to 29, with three deaths to date. The authorities have decided to impose a total lockdown in Khartoum, effective from Saturday April 18. Minister of Health Akram El Tom confirmed in a press statement that 10 new cases have been recorded in Sudan. All except one are in Khartoum. The other case was recorded in Abu Hamed in River Nile state. El Tom said that a foreigner has died of coronavirus which raises the number of Covid-19 deaths to three. The minister appealed to the Sudanese people to follow the instructions and the guidance of the Ministry of Health. “Undermining these instructions and guidance will have consequences. Anyone who feels symptoms must come forward,” he said. He further urged the security forces to play their role in protecting health personnel who are on duty.

An Egyptian policeman and seven suspected militants were killed on Tuesday in an exchange of gunfire, the ministry of interior said in a statement late on Tuesday. It said three other policemen had also been wounded. The exchange took place in the al-Amiyira district, the public prosecutor said in a statement. The ministry received information “that there is a terrorist cell, whose elements embrace Takfiri ideology, using several areas as a shelter in eastern and southern Cairo as a starting point to carry out terrorist operations,” the statement said. Egypt uses the term takfiri to refer to Islamist militants who often accuse their victims of being infidels. Two private television stations broadcast what they called footage of the shooting, which Reuters was not immediately able to verify, and asked residents to stay indoors. Weapons and ammunition were found with the suspects, the ministry said. The public prosecutor said a team of investigators has been dispatched to the scene of the attack.