Prime Minister Dr Mostafa Madbouly’s decision requiring public commercial premises, shopping centers and restaurants to close to customers at 9 p.m., effective from Saturday, 28 March 2026, exempts certain types of businesses and establishments, as well as cities and tourism areas with distinctive characteristics.
The decision sets out the following exemptions:
The rule does not apply to grocery stores, supermarkets, bakeries, bread ovens or pharmacies. It also exempts tourism-licensed restaurants and cafeterias at airports, seaports, land ports and railway stations, as well as tourism-licensed restaurants, cafeterias and activities located within or attached to hotels. Operating hours for certain night-time businesses, such as fruit and vegetable shops, poultry shops and wholesale markets, must also be taken into account.
The decision does not apply to public commercial premises or tourism establishments in South Sinai, Luxor and Aswan governorates, or in Hurghada and Marsa Alam in the Red Sea Governorate. It also exempts public commercial premises and tourism establishments along the Nile riverbank within Cairo and Giza governorates.
Source: the Egyptian Cabinet’s official Facebook page.
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