Doctors, officials call for urgent measures in Upper Egypt to combat surge in coronavirus cases

Doctors, parliamentarians, and medical officials are calling for urgent measures to be taken to combat a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths in the governorate of Sohag in recent days. Hospitals in the area have been overwhelmed with patients seeking treatment, forcing them to turn away people experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms. 

The head of the Doctors Syndicate in Sohag Mahmoud Mansour on Saturday called on the governor to impose a strict curfew in the governorate to help stop the spread of the virus. His comments, posted on Facebook on Saturday, came after the syndicate announced the deaths of five doctors from COVID-19  in the governorate, four of them aged between 32 and 36 years old, within a three day span.

While the Deputy of the Ministry of Health for Preventive Medicine Affairs, denied Mansour’s claims, saying in a television interview on Sunday that “the situation in Sohag is not terrifying, as portrayed by [Mansour], who called for a curfew in the governorate,” his comments stand in contrast to other medical officials in the area who spoke to Mada Masr and described overcrowding at hospitals and a lack of proper vaccinations and treatment amid a sharp spike in cases.

Sohag Doctors Syndicate member Haitham Mohi Eddin told Mada Masr that the Upper Egypt governorates of Sohag and Qena have witnessed an unprecedented increase in coronavirus cases and deaths in recent days. Mohi Eddin, an administrative official at Sohag General Hospital, said that dozens of patients arrive at the hospital every day but the facility has run out of available beds to treat them. He says that despite some hospitals in the governorate being converted into isolation hospitals, many of them are now at full capacity, forcing doctors to automatically direct any new COVID-19 patients to home isolation, even if they are suffering from severe complications. 

Mohi Eddin added that in light of hospital overcrowding, increased contact in waiting areas has caused the number of cases and death rates to further spike. He also pointed out that the absence of awareness campaigns about the virus and methods of preventing transmission have aided the spread of infections in Sohag. Mohi Eddin said despite the health minister visiting Sohag and Qena last week to investigate the cause of the surge, no additional precautionary measures were imposed in the area.

Meanwhile, the Upper Egypt governorates representative in the Doctors Syndicate’s general assembly, Iman Salama, told Mada Masr that most medical workers in the governorates of Sohag and Qena who currently have COVID-19 are unable to receive treatment at Health Ministry hospitals. Salama called for a number of urgent measures to be taken to combat the surge, including the provision of vaccinations for medical workers and residents in the area. She said a large number of doctors in hospitals affiliated with the Health Ministry have not been vaccinated despite registering over a month ago. Salama also called for an increase in the number of vaccination centers in the governorate to better serve residents.

Salama emphasized the need for more effective vaccination awareness campaigns and for the implementation of social distancing measures. Yet Salama stressed that the issue of overcrowding at hospitals in the area is currently the number one priority. “All these measures must come after supporting hospitals in Qena Governorate by providing them with beds and supplies for infection control and prevention, in order to receive more patients,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mostafa Salem, the MP for the constituency of Tama, Tahta and Juhayna in Sohag, in a statement to the House speaker and in a separate memo to the prime minister, called on authorities to quickly intervene to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Sohag. 

In a televised interview on Sunday night, the MP called for an increase in hospital capacity and medical supplies, including ventilators, and for schools in the area to be suspended to prevent transmission. Salem also called for an increase in the number of vaccination centers. "It is not reasonable in a governorate like Sohag, that has a population of 5.5 million, there are only three vaccination centers," he said.

Update: This article has been updated to reflect comments by the Deputy of the Ministry of Health for Preventive Medicine Affairs.