Amid rising apprehensions of COVID-19 Egypt's Ministry of Health is on the alert. This week a second case was confirmed and hundreds of suspects tested. The second confirmed case is a Canadian citizen working for a petroleum company. The Canadian was quarantined at Marsa Matrouh Al-Negila Hospital along with two others. Swabs taken during quarantine were tested and revealed the Canadian was positive and the two others negative. Some 1400 employees who work for the same company were placed under voluntary home quarantine. Khaled Megahed, official spokesman for the Ministry of Health, says the Canadian citizen has shown mild symptoms. He is currently receiving medical treatment and is in a stable condition. “The ministry has been testing all contacts the Canadian made since arriving in Egypt on 19 February,” said Megahed. Last week Egypt's first positive case, also a foreign national, was released from quarantine after making a full recovery. In the meantime, several confirmed cases have been reported abroad of individuals who had returned from Egypt. France announced that two tourists returning from Egypt had tested positive for COVID-19, Canada that one of its citizens tested positive for the virus immediately after returning from a trip in Egypt, and Taiwan reported a similar case. The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a statement saying none of the confirmed cases among tourists to Egypt showed symptoms while passing through Egyptian entry points or during their stay in Egypt. WHO Representative to Egypt John Jabbour said that while Egypt performs tests on travellers entering the country from countries with high infection rates such as China, Iran, Italy and South Korea he would suggest “Egypt perform examinations on travellers entering the country and those departing as well”. The cases found among individuals returning from Egypt prompted the Qatari Civil Aviation Authority has instructed airports in Qatar not to accept travellers from Egypt due to coronavirus fears. Moreover, Kuwait's Health Ministry issued on the same day a directive to all the airlines currently working in Kuwait International Airport to impose precautionary procedures on all passengers arriving from Egypt. Cases among tourists returning from Egypt have triggered speculation that the government may not be disclosing the true number of local infections. Speaking on television, Health Minister Hala Zayed reassured the public that the government is being transparent. “Neither the government nor anyone else has the ability to hide the existence of the virus,” she said. According to Zayed, the ministry and WHO have received detailed data about infected tourists. “We have tracked the people with whom they mingled and none of them have tested positive for the virus,” she said. To confirm that a case was infected with the virus in a specific place the person must have spent at least 14 days in the country in question and have tested positive for the virus within 48 hours of their return. “Neither of the two conditions apply to the tourists who were visiting Egypt,” said Zayed, adding that the possibility of their contracting the virus while being in Egypt is low. She noted that “until now there have been no positive cases from the places they visited of the people they met.” Some Egyptians are taking the threat posed by COVID-19 lightly and even joking about it while others are panicking. In this regard, the Egyptian cabinet's media centre said on Monday that Egypt launched a website to spread awareness among Egyptians about coronavirus. The website (www.care.gov.eg) provides public information about the virus, such as means of transmission, protective measures, and answers to the most frequently asked questions, in addition to the latest updates on the situation nationwide and worldwide in accordance with the World Health Organisation. Elham Al-Samman, a housewife and mother of three, worries that the Health Ministry is not admitting to the existence of cases in order not to scare people. “I stopped sending my children to school. We heard about suspected cases in the school but the headmaster issued a blanket denial,” she says. Zayed has repeatedly called on the public to trust government statements on the coronavirus and stressed that WHO closely monitors Egypt's Health Ministry as well as the situation in the country. Alaa Eid, head of the Health Ministry's preventive medicine department, told Al-Ahram Weekly that preparations had been made for a possible outbreak of the virus in Egypt and noted that for the time being there is no need to panic “The situation is under control, though if anyone does get a fever, runny nose or cough they should check with a doctor. People with flu should stay at home until they fully recover,” he said. Stressing that until now Egypt is a low-risk zone, Eid added that “we are ready for any scenario” and regular workshops are carried out with the Ministries of Interior and Defence to implement Health Ministry “and inform partners of the steps that should be taken in case of an epidemic”. Zayed left for China earlier this week. The minister said she would deliver a message of solidarity from President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to the Chinese people as well as learn from China's experience in dealing with COVID-19. During a press conference held on Monday at the Egyptian Embassy in Beijing on the fringe of her visit to China, Zayed said that China has provided Egypt with 1,000 thermal detectors along with the updated version of the technical documents illustrating the precautionary measures taken against the epidemic, which will be of great use to contain the virus spread. The minister added that her current visit coincided with President Al-Sisi's decision to mark a number of Egyptian landmarks in the colors of the Chinese flag in a humanitarian gesture of solidarity with the Chinese people. A day earlier, a number of major Egyptian landmarks were lit up in red in solidarity with the Chinese people over the coronavirus epidemic. The landmarks included the Cairo Citadel, the Temple of Karnak in Luxor and Philae Temple in Aswan. Earlier in a joint press conference at Cairo International Airport given by Zayed and China's Ambassador to Egypt Liao Li Chang, Li Chang expressed his appreciation for Egypt's support of China at this serious time. “Egypt has sent China tons of medical equipment to help it in overcoming this crisis,” said Li Chang.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 5 March, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
