Egypt secures $5.2 billion IMF loan amid coronavirus fallout

International Monetary Fund on Friday approved Egypt’s request for a $5.2 billion loan as country’s ecomy reels from financial fallout of coronavirus pandemic.

one-year arrangement, which comes on top of a separate $2.77 billion emergency financing anunced last month, aims to boost Egypt’s social spending, spur job creation and vance structural reforms to “put Egypt on a strong footing for sustained recovery," IMF said in a statement.

Egypt h been one of fastest-growing emerging markets in world before pandemic. w, IMF warned, disruptions “have worsened ecomic outlook and reshuffled policy priorities.”

re was immediate comment from Egyptian government on loan’s approval.

Arab world’s most populous country is struggling to cope with a collapse of critical sources of income, including tourism revenue, remittances from Egyptian workers abro, shipping fees from Suez Canal and gas and oil revenues.

Egypt only just emerged from a three-year ecomic overhaul after securing a $12 billion IMF loan in late 2016. government's significant reforms included floating currency, slashing key subsidies and imposing a value-ded tax.

austerity measures won President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi praise from Cairo’s Western backers and bankers, and helped attract foreign investment after years of political turmoil that followed 2011 popular uprising. But overhaul also dramatically hiked prices for everything from electricity to drinking water, squeezing poor and middle class.

Before pandemic threw millions of casual laborers out of work, one in three Egyptians was alrey living in poverty, according to government figures.

During pandemic, government has handed out 500 Egyptian pounds ($31) a month to informal workers in need. But that seemingly hasn't solved ecomic distress of millions. government’s statistics ncy reported recently that about half of all Egyptian families h been forced to borrow money because of ecomic shutdown. Over 73% of citizens said ir income h declined.

To fend off furr financial strain, government has resisted a harsh lockdown, inste enacting a nighttime curfew, shutting down schools, mosques, gyms and clubs, and urging citizens to wear masks and take or precautions against virus.

Starting next week, government plans to grually reopen society even as it reports over 1,000 new infections and close to 100 deaths a day. Restaurants, coffee shops, clubs and aters will resume operations at 25% capacity, while mosques and churches will welcome worshippers after a three-month suspension. International flights will resume for tourism to destinations less hard-hit by virus.

Health experts have cautioned that reopening for business could pose a serious risk as Egypt’s coronavirus case count soars. country’s doctors union warned last month country was careening toward a catastrophe and that its health system was nearing collapse.

Egyptian social media have been flooded with stories of families struggling to find hospital beds for sick relatives. Meanwhile, doctors union reported that five physicians have been arrested for speaking out about authorities’ handling of pandemic, as el-Sissi’s government tightens its grip on information about outbreak.

Egypt’s health ministry has reported 62,755 infections, including 2,620 deaths — highest death toll in region.