Medics warn North Sinai’s health system will collapse without medical equipment

Medics in Egypt’s North Sinai Peninsula are calling on the Egyptian government to provide them with medical equipment to face the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

They have warned that the health system in the North Sinai governorate will not cope if the numbers of infections continues to climb, reports Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

A health official told the news site that there is no system for testing for coronavirus anywhere within the North Sinai governorate.

Currently, samples are sent to health laboratories in Ismailia and patients remain in isolation in either Al-Arish or Bir Al-Abed until the results are given.

The official echoed calls from doctors across the rest of Egypt, that there is not enough protective clothing or specialised training for medics working on the front line to tackle the pandemic.

Last Monday two Egyptian citizens died in Al-Arish General Hospital of suspected coronavirus before they were tested due to the delay in the transfer of samples to Ismailia.

North Sinai was the last governorate to register a covid case across Egypt. Eight new cases were recorded last Sunday, according to the same report.

Several doctors have criticised the government for sending aid abroad to its allies including the UK, the US and Italy when it is desperately needed at home.

READ: Egypt shortens curfew, to reopen tourist attractions

They have also called for a full lockdown, warning that the government’s plan to coexist with the virus will be a disaster for the country’s healthcare system.

Yesterday, the government announced it was opening some tourist hotspots, including in the popular Red Sea destinations in the South Sinai Peninsula.

Doctors and pharmacists have been forcibly disappeared for speaking out and their social media accounts closely followed for signs of dissent from the official line.

A collapsed health system in North Sinai would be disastrous for local residents on top of the hardship they have faced over the last several years.

The Egyptian regime has been waging war against the local Daesh affiliate in Sinai since Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi assumed power following the 2013 military coup which has been largely unsuccessful.

Reports reveal the army has committed war crimes in the area; arrested and forcibly disappeared children, extrajudicially executed civilians and used disproportionate force against local residents.

In 2013 the army began destroying Rafah and eventually razed the entire area along the border with Gaza.

Some 3,200 families have been evicted from Rafah, 685 hectares of land destroyed and 3,255 buildings including mosques and hospitals have been destroyed, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.