Mohamed Abdullah - Cairo
The criticism of the Egyptian Minister of Health, Hala Zayed, was renewed after announcing the allocation of Al-Nujaila Central Hospital, west of the city of Marsa Matruh (north), to receive the Egyptians wishing to return from China, and turning it into a quarantine in anticipation of cases with the "Corona" virus.
The decision angered residents and doctors alike, as residents of the city west of the capital, Cairo, are terrified of the hospital's presence in a residential area and next to a commercial market, while doctors accuse the ministry of deceiving them by contracting with doctors to work there without their knowledge of the nature of the task in advance.
The Minister visited Al-Nujaila Central Hospital twice within 48 hours in two secret visits he did not announce, during which she moved between the hospital and the neighboring hotel, before she suddenly announced - without consulting with representatives of the governorate or even the Health Department - the hospital to be completely evacuated.
The minister angered the doctors, their union, the people of Al-Nujila region, and the deputies of the electoral district, because of not dealing with the situation with transparency and clarity, and imposing a fait accompli policy on them, without discussion or space for dialogue, and clarifying the ministry's preparations to confront the virus to deal with it positively.
The official spokesman for the Egyptian cabinet said last Thursday that Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly had contacted the Egyptian ambassador to China, who had spoken to the Chinese authorities, and obtained approval from them to arrange the return of any Egyptian desires residing in the city of "Wuhan".
The Egyptian Minister of Health announced at the time that a quarantine is being prepared to accommodate the Egyptians returning from China and all those dealing with them, with the quarantine being supplied with all the medical devices and supplies and the specialized medical staff, and taking the necessary logistical measures to provide the means of subsistence and residence for a period of (14) days, without clarifying the quarantine place , And how to assign doctors to him.
The last to know
Secretary General of the Medical Association, Ihab Al-Taher, confirmed the validity of what was raised through the media and social networks, that some doctors deceived them and did not know the nature of the task entrusted to them, saying, "Some doctors went there without knowing the details of their presence there."
He explained in statements to Al-Jazeera Net that after the spread of the news, the ministry retreated and chose the doctors there between returning or staying, and some of them chose to stay and others decided to return, and the problem was solved, but he added that it was not supposed to happen from the beginning.
He saw that everyone understands that there is a health problem that requires concerted efforts, as it is a matter of first that there is transparency, and there are steps that had to be followed, such as informing doctors about the nature of the task assigned to them, then training them properly to deal with the disease, so that the doctor is assured.
The anger of the people
On the popular level, Egyptian media and social media reported that the people of the El-Nujila region objected to turning their central hospital, the only one in the area about seventy kilometers from the city of Matrouh, into a quarantine place for returnees from China.
They expressed their anger over the failure to inform them of the evacuation of the hospital two days ago, and expressed their fears of the existence or discovery of cases with the Corona virus, and the transmission of infection to them, as the hospital is located in the center of their town and threatens the lives of thousands of citizens, asking the authorities to reverse their decision.
In this regard, one of the journalists, who asked not to be named, confirmed to Al-Jazeera Net that the choice of the hospital was a surprise to the people, and that there is a state of resentment and anger among them because of the lack of disclosure and frankness with the truth of the matter, but this does not prevent the state taking all precautions.
He ruled out that the anger of the residents will have an impact on the course of things, adding that life is proceeding normally, and that the town's population does not exceed 15 thousand people.
In turn, MP and Suleiman Barani and Salloum, MP Sulaiman Fadl, confirmed that there was confusion and lack of clarity regarding the statements of the mysterious Minister of Health at the beginning, but then all the confusion was removed, as I mentioned that the people who will be evacuated from China do not include any case Infected with Coronavirus, they will be kept in the Marshal Hotel in Marsa Matruh, and in case of any case, there will be a hospital ready to receive it.
He explained in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net that he stipulated that the period of receiving the returnees from China should not exceed more than 21 days, after which the hospital would return to the service of the people, and during that period the Ministry of Health would provide full health care to the people, and in fact five health units were provided with ambulances to transport the emergency cases To Matruh Hospital and provide mobile clinics to serve the families, and cars to transport the dialysis patients from their homes.
Concerning the selection of Al-Nujaila Central Hospital specifically and not others, the deputy confirmed that any place inside Egypt would be raised about the same question, in addition to that the matter came within 72 hours when the political leadership directed the evacuation of the Egyptians there quickly.
The Egyptian Minister of Health, Hala Zayed, faces widespread criticism since taking office and re-assigning her to the second government of Mostafa Madbouly, because of her statements sometimes towards doctors and pharmacists, and the way she deals with crises that occur from time to time, such as the Minya doctors incident, which resulted in the death and injury of a number of them while they were going. From Minya to Cairo to attend a training they were surprisingly informed.