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.



UK FM Calls Israeli Attacks on Gaza Hospital 'Deplorable'

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
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UK FM Calls Israeli Attacks on Gaza Hospital 'Deplorable'

Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo
Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, on October 31, 2024. © AFP file photo

British foreign minister David Lammy condemned Israel's attacks on medical facilities in Gaza on Sunday after two Israeli missiles hit a building inside a Gaza hospital.

"Israel's attacks on medical facilities have comprehensively degraded access to healthcare in Gaza," Lammy said in a short post on social media, Reuters reported.

"Al-Ahli Hospital has been attacked repeatedly since the conflict began. These deplorable attacks must end. Diplomacy, not more bloodshed, is how we will achieve a lasting peace."