Headlining the talk shows last night — you guessed it — GERD and covid-19. Al Hayah Al Youm's Lobna Assal spoke by phone with presidential spokesman Bassem Rady about the current Egypt-Ethiopia dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Asked whether Ethiopia’s announcement that it will commence with filling the dam’s reservoir in July negated negotiations mediator US Treasury Chairman Steven Mnuchin’s previous claim that the dam’s reservoir would not be filled until all sides had reached a final agreement, Rady said that the legally-binding 2015 Declaration of Principles stipulated what Mnuchin had stated, and that he couldn’t speak on the Ethiopian leadership’s statements (watch, runtime: 4:41).

All the latest on covid-19 in Egypt: Min Masr’s Reham Ibrahim and Amr Khalil dedicated the program to reviewing the covid-19 developments over the past week, including the various updates the prime minister had received, the precautionary measures taken across the country’s ports, the Health Minister’s assurances that potential in-country cases had all tested negative, as well as the website, Care.gov.eg, that the government launched to provide information on the virus (watch, runtime: 27:51).

Madbouly reviews economic outlook in light of covid-19 outbreak: Masaa DMC’s Ramy Radwan wrapped up the covid-19 segment of the program by reviewing the meeting of the cabinet’s economic committee, headed by Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly. They discussed expected global growth rates in light of the virus’ outbreak, likely impacts on Egypt and the region, and potential precautionary measures (watch, runtime: 2:06).

Kuwaiti-Arab development delegation visits Port Said: Assal also covered a visit by a delegation from the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development to various Sinai development projects in east Port Said, with International Cooperation Minister Rania Al Mashat as their host. The tour was centered around a trip to the area’s seawater desalination plant (watch, runtime: 3:16).