CAIRO, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Egypt will resume a nighttime curfew during the holy fasting month of Ramadan to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said on Thursday.

"The curfew will start at 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time (1900 to 0400 GMT)," he told a televised news conference.

He added the commercial centers and shops will be opened across the week until 5 p.m. local time, after only working for five days, to ease the life of the citizens in Ramadan.

"The government is planning to gradually re-open the economy while following the precautionary measures after the end of Ramadan," he said.

Egypt has banned all public religious gatherings during Ramadan.

On Wednesday, Egypt reported 169 new coronavirus cases and 12 new fatalities, bringing the total number of cases to 3,659 and the number of deaths to 276.