Cairo: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli has issued a new decision outlining legal procedures for closing public venues, commercial centers, and restaurants from 9:00 pm onward.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the decision mandates that all public establishments, including shopping malls, restaurants, cafes, and bazaars, must close daily at 9:00 pm, except for workshops and craft businesses within residential areas.

The decision does provide specific exceptions, allowing establishments to remain open until 10:00 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, public holidays, and official occasions as determined by the prime minister. Delivery services, where available, will continue to operate around the clock.

The new regulations also apply to various entertainment and retail spaces governed by the Hotel and Tourist Establishments Law (Law No. 8 of 2022), including restaurants, cafes, bazaars, night entertainment venues, discotheques, and shops selling tourist goods. Sports clubs, popular clubs, company and factory clubs, youth centers, and community development centers are also required to close daily at 9:00 pm, with similar exceptions extending their hours to 10:00 pm on designated days.

Article Three of the decision exempts certain essential services such as grocery stores, supermarkets, bakeries, pharmacies, and tourist-licensed restaurants and cafes at airports, seaports, and train stations from the closing time restrictions. Additional exemptions include night activities like fruit and vegetable stores, poultry shops, and wholesale markets.

Moreover, the decree will not apply to public and tourist establishments in the governorates of South Sinai, Luxor, Aswan, or the cities of Hurghada and Marsa Alam in the Red Sea governorate. Establishments along the Nile River in Cairo and Giza governorates are also excluded from these restrictions.

The decision is set to take effect from Saturday, March 28, 2026, and will initially be in place for one month.