Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced, on Tuesday, that about 500 hospitals have been allocated to receiving patients suffering from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
This includes 363 hospitals affiliated with the Ministry of Health and Population, as well as Higher Education Ministry affiliated hospitals.
During a cabinet meeting, Madbouly said that the government is undertaking significant efforts to ensure that precautionary measures against the coronavirus are in place. As part of these efforts, the Ministry of Interior has issued more than 21,000 fines against violators, Madbouly added.
He praised the extraordinary efforts made by the country’s healthcare providers to protect Egyptian citizens and preserve their health, adding that they are undertaking a truly epic battle to confront the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Population Hala Zayed reviewed the efforts made by her ministry to combat the pandemic in Egypt. She said that the highest numbers of COVID-19 infections are currently being found in the governorates of Cairo, Giza, Fayoum, and Minya.
The Minister reviewed the efforts to maintain a stable supply of oxygen at hospitals, and highlighted that her ministry has contracted with companies producing liquefied oxygen to supply their production in hospitals.
She said that the hospital gas networks have been inspected, and that the ministry has formed a central room to monitor the daily supply of oxygen at hospitals nationwide. The entity also works to track hospital oxygen tanks.
Zayed said that the Ministry of Health and Population will distribute a device to measure the percentage of oxygen in the blood for COVID-19 patients undertaking isolation at home, to ensure that cases are stable.
She added that the ministry has distributed about 61,500 medical bags to minors who have been in contact with confirmed cases. A further 187,768 medical bags have been provided to adults, while the number of medical bags distributed to infections has currently reached 76,039 bags.
Zayed said that 34 centres have been allocated to provide COVID-19 vaccines, adding that priority will be given to health workers, oncology patients, and those with chronic diseases. The Egyptian government will bear the vaccine costs for the beneficiaries of the Takaful and karama programme, and patients with chronic diseases.
