Egyptian Doctor to Asharq Al-Awsat: Virus Did Not Deter Me from Carrying out My Duties

A man receives medicine at a medical center in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
A man receives medicine at a medical center in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
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Egyptian Doctor to Asharq Al-Awsat: Virus Did Not Deter Me from Carrying out My Duties

A man receives medicine at a medical center in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)
A man receives medicine at a medical center in Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)

During the beginning of the novel coronavirus outbreak, Egyptian doctor, Marwa Akr, focused on improving the immunity of her four daughters because it was a primary barrier in confronting the disease.

As a doctor of Internal Medicine doctor at the Tanta Mental Health Hospital, Akr, 42, was on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19. This however, did not prevent her from contracting the disease.

She told Asharq Al-Awsat how she first noticed minor symptoms, such as a constant headache, a high fever and abdominal pain. She later noticed the same symptoms in one of her daughters and that’s when she decided to take a test.

The symptoms appeared during the holy fasting month of Ramadan. Even though Akr is a doctor, she had to go through three hospitals before being able to take the test.

She and her daughter tested positive for coronavirus.

“It was difficult to determine the source of the infection,” she said, explaining that the symptoms emerged soon after her husband came in contact with a large number of people during a wake for his deceased mother.

Her husband became infected soon after, and he likely passed on the virus to Akr and their daughter, Rimas.

Akr and Rimas were forced to remain in quarantine at hospital for two weeks. The husband soon joined them. The remaining three daughters were forced to stay with their grandmother until their parents recovered.

Akr remarked how the tables turned against her, from doctor to patient, as she underwent treatment for the virus.

“I was able to experience the difficult situation and harsh psychological turmoil quarantine patients endure,” she recalled. “Most patients were feeling down and awaiting death.”

She said she was worried that such a negative environment would impact her ten-year-old daughter. She also spoke of the sense of panic among the attending nurses, some of whom were fresh graduates.

Akr revealed that during her stay and coming from her experience as a doctor, she managed to grow close to the nurses and medical staff, including the hospital director. “We were allowed to grant the quarantine patients greater space to leave their rooms and walk the hospital halls,” she said.

“We sterilized a large abandoned balcony at the hospital and gave patients a space where they could enjoy the sun,” she added. Gradually, people’s morale began to improve.

Rimas, meanwhile, preoccupied herself with her studies. She studied diligently through the education ministry’s online platform. She also helped other children confined in quarantine cope with their new surroundings.

Akr, her husband and daughter have since recovered from the disease. Akr is now dedicating most of her time in supporting patients who are isolating at home.

“I tell my daughter that perhaps God wanted us to experience quarantine in order to help others,” she noted, revealing that she was still in contact with several of the patients she met during her treatment period.

They have all joined a WhatsApp group that they dedicate to gathering plasma donations to help other patients.



What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
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What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday morning. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 94 as of Monday afternoon.

Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday had said that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a Monday news conference he couldn't give an estimate of the number of people still missing, only saying “it is a lot.”

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “nobody saw this coming.” Officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Rice said Monday that he did not immediately know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. But Rice said various factors, including spotty cell service in some of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of service during the weather, could have hindered communication.

Rice said officials want to finish the search and rescue and then review possible issues with cell towers, radios and emergency alerts.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

"It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recovery efforts.