The management of Cleopatra Hospitals Group anticipates that the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases reported in Egypt will increase to a peak in June; however, it does not believe it will be necessary for private hospitals to start treating coronavirus cases, as public hospitals are capable of handling the current cases.
The group forecasts that this peak will occur at about the same time as the beginning of the government’s reopening phase. Following this peak, the number of cases will begin to normalise.
The government has several layers of hospital capacity that are able to treat Egypt’s current numbers of confirmed coronavirus patients. These include quarantine hospitals, fever and chest hospitals, university hospitals, and army and police hospitals.
These are in addition to other non-ICU facilities which are being used as quarantine facilities.
The Ministry of Health has asked private hospitals not to send suspected coronavirus cases directly to isolation hospitals. They should instead undertake CT scans and laboratory analyses first, which will then be sent onto the ministry for analysis. If cases test positive, they will be directed to isolation hospitals.
During the first quarter of 2020, the Cleopatra Hospitals recorded a year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in revenues of 22%. This has been supported by strong topline growth of more than 25% during the first 2 months of 2020.
However, April witnessed a significant nose-dive in revenues, due to a coronavirus-related panic among patients and staff.
