Egypt Prosecutors Probe Virus Patients' ICU Death

A healthcare worker at the hospital in Egypt’s Sharqia province. Social media
A healthcare worker at the hospital in Egypt’s Sharqia province. Social media
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Egypt Prosecutors Probe Virus Patients' ICU Death

A healthcare worker at the hospital in Egypt’s Sharqia province. Social media
A healthcare worker at the hospital in Egypt’s Sharqia province. Social media

Prosecutors in Egypt’s Sharqia province said Sunday they were investigating the deaths of four coronavirus patients at a public hospital after a video of nurses struggling to keep the patients alive was shared on social media.

Reports said the deaths were caused by a lack of oxygen at the Husainiyah government-run intensive care unit treating COVID-19 patients. But Governor Mamdouh Ghorab said the patients died because they suffered chronic diseases in addition to the virus.

The four dead were two women in their 60s and two men, 76 and 44 years old, according to a local news outlet.

Egypt's top health authority has announced that a Chinese vaccine made by Sinopharm has been approved for emergency use, and inoculations would begin within two weeks. In televised comments Saturday, Health Minister Hala Zayed said negotiations were also underway to procure two other vaccines — one from Oxford University and AstraZeneca, as well as one from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.

Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said last month that the government has contracted to purchase 20 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Egypt has seen a spike in daily reported COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.

The Health Ministry announced over 1,400 new cases and 54 deaths on Saturday, one of the highest official daily tallies since the start of the pandemic last year.

Overall, Egypt has reported 140,878 confirmed cases, including 7,741 deaths.



Yemen's Houthis Say They Will Only Target Israeli-linked Vessels after Gaza Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
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Yemen's Houthis Say They Will Only Target Israeli-linked Vessels after Gaza Ceasefire

FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A boat carrying people sails near the Galaxy Leader commercial ship, seized by Yemen's Houthis last month, off the coast of al-Salif, Yemen, December 5, 2023. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah/File Photo

Yemen's Houthis will limit their attacks on commercial vessels to Israeli-linked ships after the Gaza ceasefire came into effect, according to the Yemen-based Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center.
The HOCC, which liaises between Houthi forces and commercial shipping operators, said in an email sent to shipping industry officials dated Jan. 19 that it was stopping "sanctions" against vessels owned by US or British individuals or entities, as well as ships sailing under their flags.
"We affirm that, in the event of any aggression against the Republic of Yemen by the United States of America, the United Kingdom ... the sanctions will be reinstated against the aggressor," the email said. "You will be promptly informed of such measures should they be implemented."
The HOCC said they would stop targeting Israeli-linked ships "upon the full implementation of all phases of the agreement".
Many of the world's biggest shipping companies have suspended shipping through the Red Sea and have diverted their vessels around southern Africa to avoid being attacked.
The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023 and sunk two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers. The Houthis have targeted the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, which are joined by the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait, a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
Hamas released three Israeli hostages in Gaza and Israel freed 90 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday, the first day of a ceasefire suspending a 15-month-old war that has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East.