In a phone call on Tuesday with State TV’s Morning Show in celebration of International Nurses Day, Nursing Syndicate Head Kawthar Mahmoud announced the death of a nurse, the sixth nationwide, after contracting the coronavirus.

Mahmoud did not provide further details about the fatality, yet said that there are currently nurses in isolation after contracting the virus, while others have recovered and returned to work.

The sixth fatality comes a few days after the syndicate announced the death of nurse Atyat Arboud after she contracted the virus during her work in Damanhour’s Chest Hospital.

Several healthcare facilities in Egypt have detected cases among their doctors and nurses in the past weeks, triggering fears that the outbreak will hit the country’s overwhelmed healthcare sector.

The outbreak has killed at least nine doctors nationwide, according to statements by Ihab Taher, secretary-general of the Doctors' Syndicate, earlier this week.

According to a tally provided by the syndicate’s affiliates nationwide, the number of infected physicians until late April had reached 90. The syndicate added that the number is likely to increase.

The World Health Organisation said last April that infections among medical staff represent around 13 percent of total infections in Egypt.

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