File Photo: A customer buys some Fesikh ( Grey mullets fishes which are pickled fermented and dried) from a store. Photo courtesy of AFP.
Egypt’s Healthcare Authority (EHA) has rolled out a medical coverage plan for the Easter and Spring Festival holidays across governorates covered by the Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS), stepping up preparedness, deploying medical teams, and ensuring essential medicines and emergency services are in place.
The plan is designed to keep medical services running smoothly throughout the holidays, with round-the-clock emergency readiness and preventive measures in busy areas such as churches and public gathering spots.
EHA chairman Ahmed El-Sobky said all affiliated healthcare facilities have increased their readiness. Staff leave has been limited, and duty schedules—especially in reception and emergency departments—have been adjusted to ensure a rapid response to urgent cases.
He added that sufficient supplies of medicines, medical equipment, blood products, vaccines, and sera are available, along with the fuel and energy needed to keep facilities operating without interruption.
Medical teams have been stationed since the start of the celebrations in high-traffic locations to provide on-site care, offer basic health advice, and respond quickly to any emergencies.
Crisis and emergency rooms are operating around the clock at the authority’s headquarters and in its branches across the six UHIS governorates—Port Said, Luxor, Ismailia, South Sinai, Suez, and Aswan—to monitor the situation and respond immediately to incidents, El-Sobky said.
He added that the authority is using an integrated emergency system linked to the National Unified Network for Emergency and Public Safety. The system allows patients to be transferred quickly to the nearest hospital and enables continuous monitoring in ambulances, in coordination with the Health Ministry and the Egyptian Ambulance Authority.
El-Sobky said patients will continue to receive chronic disease medications throughout the holidays. Dialysis units will remain fully operational, and poison control centres are on alert to handle possible cases of food poisoning, particularly during Spring Festival celebrations.
The authority is also sharing guidance on safe food practices—especially for traditional foods such as fesikh (a traditional Egyptian dish consisting of fermented, salted, and dried gray mullet fish)—through its official social media channels. Rapid response teams have been formed to oversee the plan’s implementation and ensure all healthcare facilities comply with the required measures.
Egypt typically increases healthcare readiness during major public holidays, when large gatherings and seasonal eating habits put additional pressure on emergency services.
Spring Festival (Sham El-Nessim), in particular, is associated with traditional foods such as fesikh, which are linked to recurring cases of food poisoning each year. This prompts heightened vigilance at poison control centres and emergency departments.
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