Egyptian press sources confirmed that a number of Egyptian army officers’ infection with Coronavirus have been confirmed, but the Egyptian regime has not announced any infection among them. An Egyptian journalist said that the numbers of people infected with the new Coronavirus (Covid-19) witnessed a jump during the past two days, reaching 35%. The number of infected cases less than two days ago was 80 officially declared cases, but it reached 109 cases within less than 48 hours. But the Egyptian journalist confirmed that the announced number of people infected with the Coronavirus is much less than the real one, which the regime will have to announce part of it next few days. A second Egyptian journalist said that he personally knew of three cases of coronavirus, which the Egyptian regime had not announced, and that all of these cases were among high-ranking officers in the Egyptian armed forces. The Egyptian journalist told Egypt Watch the names of the officers infected with the virus, but he asked not to publish their names, stressing that there are large-scale medical examinations taking place inside the armed forces after confirming the spread of the infection, but he is not sure if there are other infected officers. In the same context, Al-Akhbar Lebanese newspaper quoted an official Egyptian source that the real number of cases of Coronavirus in Egypt exceeds 1700 cases. The international human rights organization, We record said in a statement that it had obtained documented information by its team from its own sources regarding the appearance of cases of coronavirus infection among Egyptian army officers.
Among the injured, the statement added, is the director of the Major Projects Department at the Armed Forces Engineering Authority, Major General Shafie Abdel Halim Dawoud. We record said that it was “confirmed that he was infected with the Coronavirus, as well as his driver (recruiter), in addition to 3 officers of the Engineering Authority.” In its statement, Saturday, the human rights organization affirmed that it is not concerned with any “clash with the Egyptian authorities, but our goal of this action is to ensure the safety of members of the Egyptian community, both civilian and military, as it must deal effectively in an equal act to the threat posed, especially after the World Health Organization declared a virus Corona is a global pandemic on 11 th of March.
The organization called on the Egyptian authorities to “deal with the utmost seriousness and transparency.” The organization pointed out that the virus infection of some officials in the country is not a shame, especially since “many countries of the world have reported infection of senior officials with the virus, and there has been no reservation or hesitation by these governments.” We record pointed out that “the official dealings of the Egyptian authorities are an influential and pivotal factor. Transparency and speed of announcing can contain the spread of the virus; the lack of transparency and announcing facts is nothing more than a green light for the spread of the virus among citizens.” The statement stressed that “the incident of the injury of Major General Shafi ‘Abd al-Halim Dawood and his driver, which was confirmed last Tuesday, is not limited to them only, but it may have caused infection by colleagues inside the armed forces, members of their families and colleagues of their children in schools and universities, as well as neighbors and relatives.” It explained that the infection of Major General Shafi` Dawud was discovered after the effects of fatigue and high temperature appeared during a meeting with General Mahmoud Ahmed Shaheen, Chief of Staff of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, and Major General Shaltout, Chief of Staff of the Water Department of the Engineering Authority. All those present were examined to confirm the infections of Major General Shafi’ and his driver, and it was not clear about the results of the examinations of the other two major generals.
In the aftermath, an order was issued to all employees of the project management and military engineers of the Engineering Authority of the Armed Forces, last Wednesday morning, to surrender themselves to the central laboratories of the Armed Forces immediately and subject them to tests of the Coronavirus. By conducting these tests, it was discovered that 3 officers of the Engineering Authority were infected with the virus, to make matters more complicated, so that the medical need requires examining all those who had contact with the infected, whether inside or outside the military. This escalation in the number of cases infected among the military coincided with the increase in the number of injured Egyptian civilians to at least 109 people (according to the official version), and the death of two (an Egyptian woman and a German tourist). The statement called on the Egyptian authorities to exert more effort and take many measures, activate the principle of transparency and provide correct data and information in order to succeed in limiting the spread of the virus and controlling it.” The recognition by the authorities of the presence of the virus is very late and came after a number of countries, including America, France, and Canada, announced the appearance of infections to people from Egypt. Egypt has become, in the eyes of a number of countries of the world, a source of the virus and exporter of it, which prompted those countries one by one to issue decisions to ban travel to and from Egypt. We Record organization affirmed that transparency is the first way to prevent the risks of the coronavirus, and the Egyptian authorities should follow the path of the countries of the world that abide by their responsibilities towards their citizens, both civilian and military.
