CAIRO: Ever since the outbreak of swine flu in Mexico last April and the Egyptian government has been gripped with a virus – long before it was pronounced a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.
Over one month before it was detected here in early June, the government began a series of frantic moves – “precautionary measures – to assuage the rising panic against a local outbreak. But the motivations weren’t all philanthropic: the government wanted to seize the opportunity to improve its public image, to exude an aura of being prepared to face a massive health crisis, and to rebuilt trust with a populace that has lost all faith in a government that has let them down repeatedly over the years.
To a great level, the health ministry has been able to achieve that. Under the instruction of an unusually competent Minister Hatem El-Gabaly and his unusually competent media machine, the official transparency in most swine flu related issues has done much to improve the image and credibility of Egypt’s public health sector. From a journalistic point of view, the ministry has been quick to update the public on all new cases and on details of the three deaths recorded in Egypt. Except for some isolated incidents, there has been little abuse of authority when it comes to undergoing H1N1 lab tests (as in requesting fees from foreigners at public hospitals, for instance, where all testing and treatment is free), or selling Tamiflu – the drug used in the treatment of swine and bird flu – in the black market. True that some private pharmacies were doing so illegally, but things like that do happen and the government was unusually quick to respond to them.
That said, the picture hasn’t all been this rosy. The mindless decision to cull Egypt’s 200,000 -350,000 pigs in a move criticized by the WHO as an unnecessary error of judgment; the hesitation over how to handle the academic year; conflicting decisions with regards to regulations on how to manage the Hajj pilgrimage; and finally the swine flu vaccine issue, have all combined to exacerbate the feeling that chaos and instability dominate the decision-making circles of power.
The government franticly quarantined anyone flying into the country with a bit of a fever; imposed a non-negotiable rule of prohibiting anyone below 25 or above 65 from going on Umrah or Hajj pilgrimage; and postponed the start of the academic year twice, closing down entire schools or university classes if a single case is detected, which is not bad in itself, but has gone so far that it stoked the mass panic, bordering on fear-mongering.
Having realized the excessiveness of the measures, the official rhetoric was modified to water down the public message, highlighting the fact that the virus is weak and has so far only infected just over 1,000 Egyptians/residents with the least number of deaths in the region happening in Egypt.
It still remains to be seen, however, what will happen when the winter reaches full blast and the projected number of infections goes out of control. So far the contingency plan to close down schools, for instance, and offer classes online or on television does not seem practical. What if both parents are working and there’s no one to monitor the children, assuming they have access to a TV or a computer and internet connection to start with? How far will students manage to take in Egypt’s notorious syllabi with such little class interaction? How much of a difference will it actually make if private tuition groups (some including up to 30 students per session) continue to convene under the government’s radar?
As for the debate over the safety of the vaccine (which will be mandatory for Hajj pilgrims and health workers as a priority) wild rumors have been circulating, stating “that the vaccine is tainted with antifreeze or Agent Orange, that causes Gulf War syndrome or that it’s an “evil depopulation scheme or a Zionist conspiracy against the Muslim world.
It seems that the government has gone back to square one and needs to rethink its message and actions in the coming period to contain the panic when we have a real outbreak.
There’s only so much chaos Egyptians can handle without having to worry about a global flu pandemic.
Rania Al Malky is the Chief Editor of Daily News Egypt.
