Six Egyptian doctors die after contracting Covid-19
Six Egyptian doctors die after contracting Covid-19
A surge in Covid cases across the country has peaked in early February, resulting in the highest infection rates since the beginning of the pandemic.
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The Egyptian healthcare system continues to struggle as Omicron hits workers hard [Getty]
Six Egyptian doctors have died after contracting Covid-19, theÌýÌýannounced, bringing up the total official number of medical staff who have lost their lives to the virus in the country to 671.Ìý
The doctors were identified asÌýOsama Mahmou Ahmed Abu al-Saoud, Mustafa Mahdi, Ibrahim Mukhlis, Hussein Mohammed Sami, Nabil Ibrahim Sabri and Essam Hamza al-Maghazi.
The actual number of doctors who have died as a result of the virus was likely to be higher, the syndicate said, adding that some doctors were not included in the count at their families' request.
hasÌýrecorded some of theÌýinfection ratesÌýsince the pandemic began. Officials believe the numbers are likely to be higher due to the absence of widespread testing in Egypt.
On 17 February,Ìý2,071 new cases were confirmed, along with 61 further deaths, bringing upÌýthe total number of recorded infections to 465,423, and the overall number of coronavirus-related deaths to 23,632.Ìý
Egypt has received nearly 68 million so far - enough to provide full vaccination to just over 30% of its 102.3 million population.Ìý
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The spread of the new Omicron variant in Egypt came at a time when health workers across the country were struggling with meagre wages, worn-out healthcare infrastructure and massive staff shortages - and among medical staff in the world.Ìý
After two years battling the Covid-19 crisis, Medical Unions and civil society organisations haveÌýdemanded that healthcare workers were remunerated to the same extent as the military and police.Ìý
The request was rejected by the ministry of finance, on the grounds that the government lacked the necessary fiscal resources.
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