Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed today met Egyptians who were repatriated from Wuhan, China, in the wake of the outbreak of novel Corona Virus (nCoV).
Ever since their return from Wuhan, the 302 Egyptians were kept in quarantine in the northern Egyptian city of Marsa Matrouh. The Minister met them there today, after they completed the 14-day quarantine period, the incubation period of the virus, and tested negative to nCoV and free of any other contagious virus.
Two weeks ago, the Egyptian government sent a special jet to Wuhan to bring back the Egyptians living there, and they were brought to the Negelah Hospital in Matrouh which the Ministry of Health has equipped as a quarantine zone.
Toady, Dr Zayed said that nine buses have been assigned to take the Wuhan returnees back home in Cairo and Alexandria today, now that they are out of quarantine. She said three ambulance vehicles would drive the pregnant women among the group to their homes.
The Health Minister had an amicable chat with the Wuhan Egyptians, took a few photographs with them and offered the children souvenir gifts. For their part, the returning Egyptians said they were extremely impressed with the excellent service they received during their quarantine, both from the medical team and the non-medical services they were granted. They also expressed special gratitude to the Egyptian authorities who were keen to repatriate them for fear for their health and well-being.
Dr Zayed commended the remarkable collaboration among all State authorities on dealing with the universal nCoV threat; she thanked the medical team who was in charge of following up on the Wuhan returnees, as well as the crew of the jet aboard which they were brought home, and representatives of the Ministry of Interior and the Armed Forces. She pointed out that 450 Ministry of Health staff have been highly trained on the WHO regulation for dealing with the NCoV crisis.
Last week the Health Ministry reported the first NCoV-positive case in Egypt where a visiting foreign national tested positive for the virus. The patient was moved in a self-sterilising vehicle, to the Negelah Hospital in Matrouh where he is now in quarantine throughout the incubation period of the virus. He was declared to be a carrier of the virus, since he displayed no symptoms whatsoever of the disease.
Watani International
17 February 2020