Faced with the virus, the Egyptian heavyweight approaches the "critical threshold" but adapts - France 24

Cairo (AFP)

Three months after the first case of a new coronavirus detected in Egypt, the health system in the most populous country in the Arab world is dangerously approaching the "critical threshold", but has so far managed to demonstrate adaptability.

With more than 13,000 cases and 600 deaths officially recorded, Egypt, which has a population of 100 million, has so far experienced a moderate spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

If the number of deaths remains stable, reaching a maximum of twenty per day, that of contaminations increases significantly with a record 720 cases for Tuesday alone.

However, the shortages of medical equipment, the lack of caregivers worry the experts.

In early May, the 17 isolation hospitals reserved for patients with the virus reached saturation, announced to the local press Ahmed al-Sobki, assistant to the Minister of Health.

Since then, Egypt has approached the "critical threshold in terms of its capabilities," said Ayman Sabae, health officer at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a local NGO.

With a doctor for 1,000 inhabitants, according to the national union of doctors, the lack of caregivers weakens the health system.

Added to this are undervalued careers, high emigration of practitioners, and the degree of exposure to the disease: ultimately, Egyptian caregivers are suffering the full brunt of the health crisis.

"How can I build my life with 1,800 pounds (105 euros) per month? It's impossible," said Mohamed Ibrahim, a 26-year-old nurse at the Cairo Oncology Center who also works in the private sector to benefit from a salary supplement of 4,000 pounds (234 euros).

- "Adaptability" -

As early as March, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that 13% of infections in Egypt were affecting healthcare workers.

"We are terrified (...). When we are all infected, who will help us?" Wonders to this day Mr. Ibrahim, including 17 colleagues from the Oncology Center have been infected.

The caregivers 'complaints also concern the difficulty in getting tested for Covid-19, according to Mona Mina, member of the complaints committee within the doctors' union.

According to her, the latter are refused PCR tests in favor of so-called rapid tests, which are less expensive but less reliable.

Another cause for concern, the shortage of surgical masks, distributed drop by drop until April, is partially offset "only by donations" from NGOs, according to Mona Mina.

To take care of its image, Cairo did not hesitate to send tons of medical protection equipment internationally, an "incomprehensible" choice, she judges.

In a country where only 1.2% of GDP (or 4.3 billion euros) was allocated to health in 2019-2020, far from the 3% provided for in the Constitution, Ayman Sabae also evokes a problem of distribution of financing.

"The government likes things that are seen" and invests in infrastructure to the detriment of the medical profession, he said.

Despite these flaws, Mr. Sabae underlines that the Egyptian health system shows great "adaptability".

Thus, the State has been preparing for a few weeks 35 hospitals, specialized in fevers and respiratory diseases, to treat the patients of Covid-19.

Dozens of screening centers were opened and more than a million tests, including 105,000 PCRs, were carried out in early May, according to Mohamed Awad Tageddine, health advisor to President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi.

With around 7,000 fans before the crisis, Cairo ordered new devices and began to assemble them, the source said.

- "Approach" -

In addition, the Egyptian army, which has launched into the production of masks, may "build makeshift hospitals" as a last resort, according to the EIPR.

From March 25, Egypt closed its airports, places of sociability and decreed a curfew.

Since then, official figures, like those of other African countries, have shown a relatively low rate of contamination with Covid-19.

The youth of the population - 60% of Egyptians are under 30 years old - and possible immunity due to certain compulsory vaccines have been mentioned to explain this phenomenon.

At the end of April, the Egyptian state decided to loosen the restrictions and plans to gradually reopen to boost the economy.

Earlier this month, the doctors' union called on the government to impose total confinement until the end of Ramadan. The idea was finally dismissed by the Prime Minister.

"Those in charge must really change their approach because we have still not reached the top of the curve," said Mr. Sabae for his part.

© 2020 AFP