Doctor, nurse die from coronavirus as Egypt sees surge in positive cases

CAIRO – 10 May 2020: The Egyptian Medical Syndicate has mourned the death of a doctor who died on Friday night from coronavirus, after having a contact with a COVID-19 positive patient.

This makes him the ninth doctor to die from the novel virus in the northeastern African country.

The syndicate said that Doctor Ahmed Darraz, former head of a hospital in Al-Sharkia governorate, in northern Egypt, had been in the “front line” in the battle against coronavirus, despite his old age and the fact that he had suffered from some chronic diseases.

Coronavirus: 35 medical personnel in Cairo hospital test positive

CAIRO - 10 May 2020: As 50 medical personnel at a hospital in the capital Cairo were tested for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), 35 were found to be positive, an official at the Egyptian Medical Syndicate said late on Saturday.

This comes as Egypt saw a surge in the daily number of coronavirus cases over the past two days, reporting a total of 8,964 cases and 514 deaths since the crisis started, according to the latest figures announced on Saturday.

Also, a nurse in one of the chest hospitals located in Damanhur, in the northern governorate of Beheira died from coronavirus. Chest hospitals nationwide receive patients with suspected coronavirus.

The syndicate does not have accurate figures for doctors who have been found to be positive, but according to the latest figures obtained from the syndicate’s branches nationwide, 90 doctors were infected, said Ihab Taher, secretary-general of the Doctors' Syndicate.

The World Health Organization said in a report on April 13 that the infected medical staff represent 13 percent of the total cases in Egypt, Taher added.

The Health Ministry on Saturday said 488 people in Egypt tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) recently and 11 people died with the novel virus.

The test results of 2,476 people of the reported cases turned from positive to negative, including 2,002 people who fully recovered.

Also, 57 cases, all of them Egyptians, left hospital after they recovered, according to the instructions of the World Health Organization (WHO).