An Egyptian patient walks in front of doctors who are on strike (Photo: AP)
Egypt's striking doctors have announced they will temporarily halt their strike on Thursday in order to treat patients with chronic conditions.
The strike, which began on Monday, will resume on Friday, the Doctors' Syndicate said.
The statement went on to praise the strikers' steadfastness in the face of "failed attempts" by the health ministry to end the strike "through false statements and threats against doctors," and claimed the nationwide strike had been a success.
However, the health ministry on Tuesday said the number of doctors participating in the strike had declined by some 15 per cent compared to Monday, as hospital outpatient clinics were functioning at 73.3 per cent capacity on Tuesday, compared to only 53.7 per cent on Monday.
The Doctors' Syndicate announced that 50.6 percent of state-run hospitals across 21 governorates had taken part in the strike on Monday.
The partial strike does not include university, police and army hospitals, or emergency rooms.
The strikers have been calling for 15 per cent of the state budget, instead of the current 5 per cent, to be allocated to health, an improvement in doctors' salaries, and an improvement in security at hospitals and medical centres which have been the target of recent attacks.
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