Egypt accuses Muslim Brotherhood of 'inciting against burial of Covid-19-victim doctor'

Egypt’s Interior Ministry yesterday accused the Muslim Brotherhood of “instigating the prevention of burial of a female doctor who died of coronavirus” in Egypt’s north-eastern Governorate, Dakahlia.

The accusations came in a statement by the ministry on its official Facebook page.

Describing the people who had participated in the incident as “outlaws,” the ministry accused them of “responding to rumours and incitement made by the Brotherhood group under the pretext of preventing the spread of the virus.”

On Saturday, Footage posted online showed dozens of people gathered in front of an ambulance to stop it from entering the burial grounds in Dakahlia’s village of Shubra Al-Bahou over fears that the body could spread the virus. The crowd was dispersed by the local police after they fired canisters of tear gas. The police also arrested 23 protestors.

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Egypt’s Dar Al-Ifta, the central authority in charge of issuing religious edicts or fatwas, recently said that all those who die due to the coronavirus “must be afforded their full religious burial rites and honoured in death.”

The local doctor’s syndicate said earlier that 43 doctors had contracted the disease and three had died.

On Saturday, Egypt registered 145 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 1,939 cases including 146 deaths.