Egypt's health minister’s secretary dies of coronavirus, raises toll among medical staff to 290
Amr Kandil, , Sunday 10 Jan 2021
Health Minister Hala Zayed said Egypt lost a 'loyal leader' who served the country with “sincerity and dedication” and contributed to saving “millions of lives” amid the pandemic


The Egyptian Medical Syndicate reported on Saturday the death of the health minister’s secretary in Qalyubia due to COVID-19, raising the coronavirus-related deaths among medical staff to 290.



Mourning the death of Hamdy El-Tabbakh, Health Minister Hala Zayed said Egypt has lost a “loyal leader” who served the country with “sincerity and dedication” and contributed to saving “millions of lives” amid the pandemic, a statement by the ministry read.



Zayed also referred to El-Tabbakh’s efforts within the framework of the presidential health initiative to detect and treat Hepatitis C patients.



We offer our condolences on the death of Dr. Hamdi El-Tabakh, who was infected with COVID-19 while working with all seriousness and dedication to save the lives of patients until his death, the statement cited Zayed as saying.



He will remain a symbol of the patriotic person who was dedicated to his work and who lived as a noble knight in the face of the epidemic until he died, Zayed added.



On Saturday, the medical syndicate reported three other deaths among medical staff due to coronavirus.



The deceased included Osama Abdullah, a surgeon at Menoufia governorate; Mohsen Agwa, former head of Gamal Abdel-Nasser hospital in Alexandria; and Osama Rabea’, a pediatrician in Sharqia.



This comes while Egypt is experiencing a second wave of the pandemic, amid efforts to start vaccinating priority groups.



A report by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean region last week said Egypt is among the countries with the highest reported number of coronavirus-related deaths in the region.



Egypt’s Presidential Adviser for Health Affairs Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din said on Friday that Egypt officially contracted with the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) to secure for Egypt 20 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine.



Egypt already received the first 50,000-dose batch of a coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinopharm on 10 December.

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