Egypt's Tourism Ministry: Police Ban on Alcohol in Sahel is Fake News

After news of a government-enforced ban on alcohol on North Coast beaches made the rounds earlier this week, Egypt's Tourism Ministry denied the claims, asserting that tourism police has not taken any such measure, Egypt Independent reports.

"The Tourism Ministry did not release any ban on alcohol consumption, and the tourism police will not follow any such measure without consultations with the Tourism Ministry; the news circulating this is responsible for verifying the authenticity of their sources," says Tourism Ministry’s official spokesperson Rana Goher.

The aforementioned allegations sparked controversy on Egypt's social media since it was published by Youm7 on Saturday, with many users shunning the extreme alleged-measure as unnecessary and harmful to tourism.