The Egyptian Medical Syndicate (EMS) announced, on Monday, that five new fatalities have been reported among doctors due to complications related to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The doctors are: Yasser Ahmed Meera; Fathy Mohamed Ali; Hazem Al-Kashef; Amr Abdelghani; and Alaa Ahmed.
The latest deaths brought the total number of medics in Egypt to have died in the pandemic to 276.
Around 10,000 doctors have been infected so far across Egypt, according to EMS Undersecretary Najwa El Shafei.
As a second wave of COVID-19 intensifies nationwide, Egypt’s medical workers have been on the frontline treating an increasing number of patients.
On Sunday alone, 64 fatalities were reported due to coronavirus-related complications, one of the highest records registered recently since the start of the second wave in Egypt. The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country currently stands at 142,187, with 7,805 deaths.
Medical workers at Egypt’s isolation hospitals have been given priority in receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, in addition to those suffering from chronic diseases and the elderly, according to the Ministry of Health and Population. The vaccine will be free of charge in Egypt.
So far, Egypt has received two shipments of the vaccine developed by the China National Pharmaceutical Group (Sinopharm), with support from the UAE’s G42 Healthcare.
Since the start of the pandemic in Egypt in February 2020, the EMS has been pressing for greater protection for Egypt’s healthcare professionals. It has consistently demanded that they be provided with the required personal protective equipment (PPE) and healthcare facilities should they become infected.
In response, the Ministry of Health and Population decided, in May 2020, to allocate 20 beds at each quarantine hospital across the country to healthcare workers who have been infected with the virus. It also pledged to expand PCR tests and other related tests for medical workers.
