Nearly half of Egypt’s households expect income to fall over the next three months, says Capmas: 48.2% of all households across the country surveyed by state statistics agency Capmas have indicated that they see their income declining over the next three months, according to a study. Urban households are slightly more optimistic, with 43.3% expecting a decrease in income, while 52.3% of rural households are anticipating the same. Meanwhile, 26% of respondents said they are not working and 55.7% have started working fewer hours per week since the outbreak. Of those who remain employed, 73% reported their income had already decreased since the start of the outbreak — measured from the end of February — and 60.3% of whom have attributed lost income to measures imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

How are people coping? Some 50% of households say they’re relying on borrowing money to get by while 17% are dependent on charitable donations and 5.4% make ends meet with day labor support grants, the study found. The study also indicates that a portion of people have been dipping into savings and the sale of assets to stay afloat. Respondents also reported shifting consumption patterns to trim their budgets, with most families reducing weekly consumption of fish, poultry, and meat — swapping them out for legumes and canned goods instead.