Daily COVID-19 roundup: June 28
 
 

Editor’s note: The daily COVID-19 roundup is part of the Mada Morning Digest, our daily overview of what is making waves in the Arabic language press. If you want all the latest updates on COVID-19 and other leading stories including coverage of the economy, foreign policy, Parliament, the judiciary, media and much more — to land in your mailbox each morning, subscribe for a free trial here

 

Here are the latest figures on COVID-19 as of Saturday, June 27:

New cases Recovered New deaths
1,168 406 88
Current cases Total cases Total deaths
42,557 63,923 2,708

 

Security forces bar entry to Doctors Syndicate presser

Leading Doctors Syndicate members were barred by security forces from entering Dar al-Hikma Hospital, where a press conference was scheduled for Saturday to counter claims made by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbuly in which he attributed the rise in COVID-19 deaths to “the lack of discipline” shown by some medical staff. 

Reporting on Saturday’s events, the media platform Darb quotes leading syndicate member Mona Mina as saying that security forces prevented doctors from entering the hospital until they agreed to postpone the press conference. 

The postponement was picked up by several news portals on Saturday, though most make no mention of the security cordon. Instead, coverage in the privately owned Cairo24 focuses on “technical difficulties” as the cause of the cancellation. 

Madbuly’s comments last week prompted an immediate and stern rebuke from doctors.

Sherine Ghaleb, the head of the Cairo Doctors Syndicate, told Al-Shorouk that “medical teams were hoping, at the very least, for some moral support from the prime minister in their fight against the pandemic,” while the Aswan branch of the syndicate suggested that insufficient state funding to the COVID-19 response was a more accurate explanation for the increase in infections and deaths. 

Saturday’s press conference was meant to be the culmination of the syndicate’s response, aiming to showcase the “heroism and sacrifices” of medical staff and discuss the problems they continue to face, including a lack of personal protective equipment, staff shortages due to high rates of infection hospital workers, and the ongoing delay in assigning medical graduates to their professional residency positions.

Mina condemned the government’s move to suppress “doctors, at the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, from discussing serious problems and from demanding effective solutions for the benefit of medical staff as much as for the whole country.”

The leading syndicate figure pointed to the fact that the 95 doctors who have died represent 3.5 percent of total COVID-19 deaths in Egypt, a figure significantly higher than that in England (0.5 percent) and Italy (1.3 percent).

“I remind everyone that suppressing the problems does not solve them. Unfortunately, it exacerbates them to the point that it threatens the security and safety of medical staff as much as citizens.” Mina is quoted in Darb as saying. “We find that anyone who tries to criticize or discuss the problem is subject to security threats and harassment.”

The government’s show of force has not been limited to preventing the syndicate from holding the Saturday presser, however, with Mina telling Darb that a member of the syndicate’s media committee was detained on Friday. 

Earlier this month, Al-Manassa, whose editor-in-chief was recently detained by authorities, reported that doctors have been threatened with the possibility of military trial for non-compliance with government instructions.

In published extracts from voice notes, local Health Ministry Deputy Yosri Bayoumy can be heard telling all doctors at the Delengat Hospital, Beheira, without exception to work with coronavirus cases “even if they were dead tired.” Bayoumy added that “those who ran away … will come back whether they like it or not.”

According to Al-Manassa, the hospital director and Bayoumy told doctors that disobedience would be met with severe consequences and potentially military prosecution. The doctors were told to treat COVID-19 cases regardless of their speciality and to evacuate patients from governorate hospitals in preparation to receive COVID-19 patients. 

Away from the front line of confrontation over conditions for healthcare workers, news on the healthcare system’s capacity and the availability of medical supplies made it into headlines on Saturday night:

  • Implying concern for supply levels, head of the Drug Production Committee at the Pharmacists Syndicate Mahfouz Ramzy has called on doctors treating patients for diseases that are not the coronavirus to refrain from prescribing any of the antibiotics used in COVID-19 treatment, such as Azithromycin. Ramzy said doctors should be using alternative drugs.
     
  • After Eva Pharma announced it is manufacturing remdesivir in Egypt, a number of hospitals have started using the drug to treat COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms. Hospitals that have received the first batch include: Abu Khalifa Model Hospital, Kasr al-Ainy Hospital, Agouza Model Hospital, Zayed al-Nahyan Hospital, Obour Hospital, 15th May Hospital and Ain Shams University Hospital.
     
  • Dr. Hossam Hosni, head of the Health Ministry Scientific Committee to Combat COVID-19, talked up remdesivir, stating that it has shown great results in treating COVID-19 patients with severe symptoms. Hosni added that what has been produced so far is enough for every COVID-19 patient in the country. Head of Eva Pharma Amgad Talaat said that remdesivir will only be used for severe cases at isolation hospitals and will not be sold at pharmacies, given to patients with mild symptoms, or to those isolating at home.
     
  • Sisi paid a visit yesterday to the field hospital the Armed Forces have set up at the New Cairo exhibition center. The field hospital, which is yet to open, has a capacity of 4,000 beds. This field hospital will also have specialized ambulances and air ambulances to transport COVID-19 patients.
     
  • 150 days after it began treating COVID-19 patients — the first hospital in Egypt to do so — the Health Ministry has shut down the Nagila Isolation Hospital. The ministry has hired a contracting company to refurbish the hospital before it returns to regular operations. 

 

What were officials saying about COVID-19 on Tuesday?

“I hope the government will agree to increase customer capacity at restaurants up to 50 percent — provided all precautions and preventive measures are adhered to — so that they are not subject to financial losses” — Adel al-Masry, president of the Chamber of Tourist Establishments at the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce

“What the PM puts forward applies to everyone. But the cafés are small, so at 25 percent [occupancy] I’ll have one table.” — Hussein Salam, head of the cafes division in Luxor

“We’ll provide good loans to allow café owners to purchase equipment and supplies needed to protect against coronavirus, in coordination with the head of the cafes division.”— Ahmed al-Wakil, head of the Alexandria Chambers of Commerce

The government’s partial reopening was met with raised eyebrows, and many business owners doubt they’ll be able to turn a profit. Voices in the tourism sector and from cafes across the country expressed worry about running up losses with such a low ceiling on customer density, which the government is pledging to enforce across all sectors without exception. Even touristic sites — a foreign currency magnet the government’s hoping will provide a pull factor when flights start up again on Wednesday — will be limited to 25-person maximum tours. 

Given that many businesses look like they’ll still need a hand up to get through the next period, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce has pledged to give out “good loans” to cafe owners, while the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Tourism Organization have agreed to take direct measures to facilitate the recovery of the tourism in various countries, Egypt being among them.

It’s not all frowns on the horizon though, since sugar factories, according to Al-Mal, are hoping that the public’s return to coffee grounds will bring in an estimated LE8billion.

 

 Postpone pregnancy? 

We know that pregnancy can indirectly lead to an impaired immune system, and, as a result, pregnant women are vulnerable to being infected by the virus, so the solution in front of you now is for you to take care of yourself … [To do this], you should use one of the means of family planning available from the department for housing and family planning at the Health Ministry’s health units.” — The First Thousand Days campaign, launched by the family planning sector at the Health Ministry 

The [First Thousand Days campaign] statement does not mention whether birth control pills are readily available in the Egyptian market. While the statement doesn’t specifically mention a shortage, birth control pills often unexpectedly disappear from the market without any clear reason. — Nana Abuelsoud, a researcher on the gender file at the Egyptian Institute for Personal Rights 

Women should “postpone pregnancy” is the messaging of the Health Ministry’s new First Thousand Days campaign, which says that putting off pregnancy has “become a necessity, not a luxury.”Given the mixed availability of contraceptives in the Egyptian market, however, researcher Nana Abuelsoud criticized the ministry’s lack of explicit messaging in comments to Mada Masr, arguing that the ministry is trying to shift responsibility for sexual and prenatal health onto individual women rather than equipping maternity wards properly. 

 

What’s to come? 

“I found that most websites have written that there will be a major reduction in the number of infections in the first 10 days of opening, but that is laughable. The effects of the decision to reopen will show after 10 days, and, god willing, the results will be fine.” — Amr Adeeb, Al-Hekaya program

“The comparison is with the Spanish Flu, which behaved exactly like COVID: it went down in the summer and fiercely resumed in September and October, creating 50 million deaths during the second wave” — Dr Ranieri Guerra, WHO assistant director-general for strategic initiatives.

As Egypt makes its way through the first days of its coexistence plans, local media figures and world health officials make quite different forecasts for the short and long term. 

 

Coexistence with COVID-19

Though the decision to allow worshippers to gather again for congressional prayer was initially greeted with excitement, the rollout is being implemented with some caution.

Yesterday, Al-Azhar broadcast all five prayers from the Al-Azhar mosque on their Facebook page, giving people the option to pray at home.

Following up on instructions for mosques to stay empty on Fridays, Endowments Ministry spokesperson Abdullah Hassan stated that there was only one violation on the regulations. The minister added that the imam of the mosque in question has been reminded to adhere to the government’s regulations.  

The Coptic Orthodox Church has postponed opening altogether in Cairo and Alexandria until mid-July. While churches elsewhere have the option to open during the week, they’ll all be closed on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Evangelical Church announced it will be training church staff on sanitization and protective measures to reduce infection, while calling on the elderly and those with chronic illnesses to refrain from attending congressional prayers at the church. 

 

Who cares for healthcare workers?

Twenty infections were reported among healthcare workers in the governorate of Beheira on Saturday night, including medical and administrative workers. The infected healthcare staff reported infection from different institutions across the governorate.

Several reports have also suggested an outbreak among medical staff at Suez University’s teaching hospitals, but President of Suez University Professor Magda Hagras has denied any major problem. Hagras stressed that there is a total workforce of more than 3,800 people between the universities’ facilities. At least 10 cases were confirmed among medical staff on Friday.

COVID-19 continued to result in losses for the healthcare sector, with news that Dr. Abdel Gawad Saad, head of parasitology in Monufiya’s National Liver Institute, died of COVID-19 in the institute’s ICU ward.

Another two doctors were also newly reported to have contracted COVID-19:

Abdel Qawy Abdel Haleem Abady, an internal medicine doctor from Qena, has contracted COVID-19 while on the job according to a source at Qena Health Directorate.

At Suez Health Insurance Hospital, an unnamed doctor also tested positive for COVID-19.

 

Working with COVID-19

Preparations for the Egyptian Premier League have stumbled due to a series of new infections among players and managerial staff, sparking fear and skepticism of heading back to the pitch from a number of clubs. 

One infection among players has been reported at both Aswan and Gouna’s football clubs after the teams resumed training a few days ago, while a member of the Ismailia SC board has also tested positive. Aswan SC’s team is expected to resume training on Sunday, despite “fears among the managerial team and the squad.” 

Following the infection of three players and two of Tanta FC’s managers, the manager of the club’s football department has resigned, reports Cairo24, though it’s not explicit from the coverage that the resignation was a consequence. News also reports that the five confirmed COVID-19 cases came into close contact with several managers and teammates before their results came in, reports Cairo24.

Players from Zamalek SC, which has been vocal in opposing the decision to begin matches again in July, also released a statement reiterating their opposition after goalkeeper Mohamed Awad was confirmed to have the virus. “We will not put our families’ lives and ours at risk to resume the competition and satisfy Al-Ahly,” reads the statement, citing their arch-rival who, with substantially more points in the bag, has been pushing keenly for the competition to start up again.

It’s not just footballers who are wary of returning in full force. While lifting a number of public measures, Cabinet also delegated decisions on workforce to individual ministries, local administrations and entities to decide for themselves. A couple of lawmakers have demanded that the PM make an official exemption for workers with chronic conditions and for mothers who have children under 12 years old, to ensure they are able to stay at home and still get paid. MP Abdel Ghany in particular criticized the Cabinet for overlooking these workers in its latest decision. Yet some entities took local action.

  • The governor of Cairo ordered the heads of neighborhoods and senior managers in the governorate to “maintain a reduced workforce” in some form in “accordance with the needs” of each department, while allowing employees with chronic conditions and pregnant women to remain at home.
  • In Monufiya, all senior managers in the governorate’s staff will be required to go to work. Workers with chronic conditions will still be entitled to paid leave, however.
  • Both the Electricity Ministry and the Petroleum Ministry announced the full return of their workforce, with an exception granted to those with chronic health conditions vulnerable to infection, and employees confirmed to have come in contact with COVID-19 cases.
  • A number of high-profile figures tested positive for COVID-19 over the last three days: 
    • On Friday, Cabinet’s General Secretary tested positive for COVID-19 after showing symptoms and getting a PCR test. 
    • MP Haitham al-Hariri, who represents one of Alexandria’s districts and a member of the small opposition 25/30 bloc in Parliament, announced on Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and entered self-isolation.
    • Senior employees at Al-Mahalla al-Kubra City Council reportedly tested positive and are home-quarantining.
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