ミイラのそばで消毒作業、エジプト考古学博物館

【カイロＡＦＰ＝時事】エジプト首都カイロにある考古学博物館で23日、新型コロナウイルスの流行拡大への懸念が高まる中、館内の消毒作業が行われた。（写真はエジプト・カイロの考古学博物館内を消毒する作業員）
　白衣に手袋、マスクを着用した作業員たちは、エジプトの先史時代からローマ時代にかけての貴重な遺物が多数収蔵されている広大な博物館内のあちこちで、殺菌剤をまいた。
　この博物館には古代エジプトの第１８王朝の少年王ツタンカーメンの黄金のマスクや二輪馬車、王座などの極めて貴重な品々も収蔵されている。
　首都カイロを象徴するタハリール広場に位置するこの博物館は長らく、大勢の観光客を引き寄せてきた。
　館長のサバハ・セディク氏は、「当館は本日（２３日）から３月３１日までの閉館を命じられており、私たちは露出部の清掃作業を開始した」と述べた。
　新型コロナウイルスのパンデミック（世界的な大流行）を受けて、エジプト各地の遺跡や博物館では予防策として同様の清掃作業が実施されることになっている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/03/25-12:34）

Cleaning crews descended upon the landmark Egyptian Museum in Cairo on Monday, dousing it with disinfectants as fears mount over the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Sporting white coats, gloves and face masks, the men sprayed sanitisers across the vast museum halls, home to thousands of precious relics spanning Egypt's prehistoric era through the Roman period.
The museum also holds the priceless objects of the 18th dynasty Egyptian boy king Tutankhamun including his gold mask, a chariot and throne.
Nestled in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, the museum has long been a major tourist draw.
The museum has been ordered shut from today (Monday) until March 31 and we started the cleaning operations on exposed surfaces, said Sabah Sediq, the museum's director.
The artefacts were kept behind locked glass vitrines as staff proceeded with the disinfection procedures.
We will be using special materials designed to clean and protect the artifacts in restoration labs, Sediq said.
Similar cleaning operations are to be carried out at archaeological sites and museums across Egypt to guard against the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Saturday, the antiquities ministry said disinfection and sterilisation measures had already been taken at prominent ancient sites including the Kom al-Shoqafa catacombs and the Roman victory column of Pompey's Pillar in the coastal city of Alexandria.
The operations have also swept hotels, sea and airports, metro stations and other sites across Egypt.
Egypt's health ministry has so far registered 14 deaths out of 327 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease.
Authorities have imposed tough measures to limit social interaction in the country of 100 million inhabitants, closing schools and universities and ordering cafes, restaurants, sporting clubs and malls to close by 7.00 pm.
Air traffic was halted from last Thursday until the end of March.
Egypt's religious authorities have shuttered all mosques and churches and banned communal prayer gatherings for at least two weeks.