Egypt loses 35 doctors in 2 weeks to covid

Egypt has lost 35 doctors in two weeks, according to data published by the medical union in the country.

Yesterday, the syndicate announced that dermatologist Dr Wasfi Shahdi Pham Ghabbour died in isolation in Sadr Al-Abbasiya Hospital after contracting the virus.

Less than an hour ago its Facebook page announced the death of Paediatrician Dr Rania Fouad Al-Sayed who died from coronavirus.

On 4 May the union announced that the official death toll among Egypt’s doctors from coronavirus had reached 500 in news that spread across social media.

The ratio of doctors out of the national total of deaths in Egypt is six times higher than in the US.

READ: Egypt forcibly disappears man who waved Palestine flag in Tahrir Square

It is widely reported that the real number of people dying from coronavirus in Egypt is likely to be far higher than what has been reported.

Doctors and other medical staff have been arrested for reporting cases to the Ministry of Health and some have even been imprisoned.

Egypt’s doctor’s union has called on authorities to release the real figures so that their families can receive adequate financial compensation.

Since the start of the pandemic doctors have tried to speak out about the lack of adequate PPE and chronic problems with hospitals and outdated equipment.

In one of the most horrific public examples of this since the start of the pandemic, in January an entire ICU ward died after the oxygen supply failed.

There was neither enough oxygen nor enough pressure to save the patients’ lives.

In response to a video of the incident which went viral, Egypt’s health minister was forced to admit that there was an oxygen problem in the country’s hospitals.