Cairo, Mar 27 (UNI) A team of experts from the World Health
Organization (WHO) concluded a coronavirus (COVID-19) technical support mission to
Egypt on March 25.
The objectives of the mission were to understand the current
situation; review ongoing response activities; provide on-site
technical support as needed; and identify strengths and gaps to guide
response priorities.
“After several days of intensive meetings and field visits both
inside and outside Cairo, we see that Egypt is making substantial
efforts to control COVID-19 outbreak. Significant work is being done,
especially in the areas of early detection, laboratory testing,
isolation, contact tracing and referral of patients,” says Dr Yvan
Hutin, Director for Communicable Diseases in WHO’s Regional Office and
mission team lead.
“But more needs to be done. There is now a critical window of
opportunity to effectively control the outbreak before the current
local transmission progresses to community transmission.
We have agreed on several areas that can be scaled up, taking a
whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach.”
Considerable efforts have been made by the government in
allocating additional dedicated human and financial resources needed
to contain the outbreak. Progress has been made in expanding the
number of peripheral laboratories that are now able to test for
COVID-19, and consideration will be made in engaging overall
laboratory capacities.
Across the country, 17 laboratories now have the capacity to test
cases. An additional four will be added soon and university
laboratories will also be engaged. With support from WHO and other
partners, Egypt now has the capacity to conduct up to 200,000 tests.
Egypt’s strong disease surveillance system and contact tracing
efforts have proven effective in controlling managing sporadic and
clusters of cases before they can spread. Recent border closures now
provide an opportunity to enhance screening and rapid testing capacity
using a risk assessment approach.
Maintaining effective contact tracing with proper quarantine
mechanisms, as well as continuing systematic testing of patients
seeking treatment for all acute respiratory infections will ensure
that no critical COVID-19 cases are missed.
Building on the current well-structured Infection Prevention and
Control (IPC) programme, WHO will work with national health
authorities to enhance the isolation, quarantine and referral
mechanisms, and scale up IPC practices to prevent transmission at all
levels to ensure that patients and health workers are protected.
Significant efforts have been made to ensure the public is updated
on the current situation, including working with other sectors to
reach vulnerable populations. Greater coordination and partnerships
with civil society, NGOs, and the media will ensure that the public is
able to make informed decisions, without succumbing to mistrust and
the stigma associated with the disease.
“Health officials and health workers are clearly working very hard
and are committed to controlling this outbreak and saving lives. The
fight against coronavirus in Egypt is ongoing, and we need everybody
in the country to be engaged in this response. The right and timely
public health measures implemented with the right scale can make a
difference,” adds Dr Hutin.
UNI XC-BM GNK 1105