Egypt: Senior health ministry official dies from coronavirus

Undersecretary of Egypt’s Ministry of Health in Qalyubia Governorate has died from coronavirus two weeks after he contracted the virus.

Hamdy El-Tabbakh died on Saturday evening at Agouza Hospital.

Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed praised El-Tabbakh as a loyal leader who served the country with sincerity and dedication.

Zayed is at the centre of a storm of criticism after an entire ICU isolation ward died after the hospital ran low on oxygen.

The government has come under intense scrutiny since March due to the lack of medicine, including oxygen, which is available in hospitals across the country.

READ: Egypt bans mobile phones in hospitals following ICU ward mass death

Egypt is in the midst of its second coronavirus wave. WHO has said that Egypt has the highest number of COVID-related deaths in the region.

Officially, Egypt has reported a total of 149,792 cases and 8,197 deaths, but critics say the real figure is likely to be far higher.

On Sunday, 993 new cases were reported and 55 deaths.

On Christmas Day, the head of Egypt’s National Elections Authority Lashin Ibrahim died from coronavirus 20 days after he tested positive.

Around the same time, three newly elected MPs also died from complications related to the virus.