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Three Doctors Die From Coronavirus, Protest Against Retired Doctor’s Burial

April 11, 2020
Egypt’s Medical Syndicate

Egypt’s Medical Syndicate announced Saturday afternoon that three doctors had passed away as a result of complications arising from COVID-19.

The Syndicate, which added that 43 other doctors had to date tested positive for the coronavirus, said one of the doctors who passed away had contracted the deadly virus in their workplace.

It remains unclear how many of those infected also contracted the virus while treating COVID-19 patients or while working at hospitals. On Saturday, El-Zaitoun Specialised Hospital was sterilised after at least 23 doctors, nurses and visitors tested positive for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, at least three doctors and 12 nurses working at the National Cancer Institute tested positive for COVID-19.

The outbreak at the National Cancer Institute stirred controversy, with calls for the Ministry of Health and authorities to put in place more stringent measures to protect healthcare workers and patients.

Earlier in April, Egypt’s Medical Syndicate demanded a regular disclosure of data on infected doctors and their health status, in order to communicate with their families and provide the necessary assistance, according to Ahram Online.

Last Thursday, Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation also announced four coronavirus cases of a patient and three security staff member at its centre in Aswan.

Protest against retired doctor’s burial

On Saturday morning, Egyptian police forces fired tear gas at protesters in Daqahliya who had gathered to demonstrate against the burial of a doctor who passed away after being infected with COVID-19.

Dozens of locals from the Shubra Al-Baho and Mayt Al-Aamal villages in Daqahliya had gathered to refuse the burial of the 64-year-old retired female doctor who had become infected with COVID-19.

The woman had passed away at an isolation hospital in Ismailiya. After being refused entry by locals to the burial site at Shubra Al-Baho, the ambulance carrying the woman’s body attempted to return to May Al-Aamal village where the woman was originally from.

However, locals there refused to bury the woman there as it was intended that she be buried at her husband’s family’s burial site in Shubra Al-Baho.

In a statement, Egypt’s Ministry of Interior stated that the protest was incited by calls of online posts and rumours posted by Muslim Brotherhood pages under the pretext of preventing the spread of the disease.

Twenty three of them were arrested and legal measures were taken against them, and the case was presented to the Public Prosecution.

The Ministry of the Interior affirmed its firm and resolute response to any attempts to stir riots, outlaws, or obstruct the burial procedures of deceased victims of infection with this virus, which are carried out according to the controls set by the Ministry of Health.

Earlier in March, 300 families were placed under quarantine in Daqahliya governorate after two deaths and a number of coronavirus cases were detected in the governorate, as per Ahram Online.

Egypt’s COVID-19 tally continues to rise, with the Health Ministry announcing on Friday night 17 new fatalities and 95 new cases. The death toll in Egypt is now at 135 and 1,794 people have tested positive.

Comments (2)

  1. […] And as the pandemic spread, it wasn’t just doctors’ words that were muffled. In three separate incidents in Russia, doctors died under suspicious circumstances after speaking out about their concerns regarding lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE). But putting aside potential state- or corporate-sponsored violence, consider the violence of doctors being beaten by police as well as by private citizens, for protesting the lack of PPE in Pakistan, or even for simply reporting to their jobs every day and thus being feared as a source of contagion, in India, Australia, and Mexico (where both doctors and nurses have been targeted with bleach attacks). In Egypt, the tear gas and brutality several doctors met with when they protested the lack of testing availability for health care workers at a #covid-fallen doctor’s burial.  […]

  2. […] And as the pandemic spread, it wasn’t just doctors’ words that were muffled. In three separate incidents in Russia, doctors died under suspicious circumstances after speaking out about their concerns regarding lack of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE). But putting aside potential state- or corporate-sponsored violence, consider the violence of doctors being beaten by police as well as by private citizens, for protesting the lack of PPE in Pakistan, or even for simply reporting to their jobs every day and thus being feared as a source of contagion, in India, Australia, and Mexico (where both doctors and nurses have been targeted with bleach attacks). In Egypt, the tear gas and brutality several doctors met with when they protested the lack of testing availability for health care workers at a #covid-fallen doctor’s burial.  […]