Man questioned in Egypt after posting viral video showing Covid patients ‘running out of oxygen’

Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's face seen on hand sanitiser 

Credit: AMR ABDALLAH DALSH /REUTERS

Egypt’s security forces have interrogated a man for sharing a video that shows nurses struggling to keep Covid-19 patients alive after a government-run hospital allegedly ran out of oxygen.

The video, filmed by Ahmed Mamdouh, quickly went viral on social media on Monday after it claimed that four patients at Al-Husseineya Hospital in the northern governorate of Sharqiya died amid scenes of chaos.

In the video, Mr Mamdouh, whose aunt was reportedly among those who died, can be heard saying “everyone in the ICU has died… there’s no oxygen”, as medical staff struggle to help distressed patients.

The image in the video of a nurse curled up on the floor apparently in shock has caused particular outrage in Egypt.

Doctors and hospital managers have been questioned over the incident.

It's not your fault

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The Health Ministry in Cairo has denied that they died due to a lack of oxygen, however, insisting that the patients in Mr Mamdouh’s video died at different times and that three of them were elderly and had pre-existing "chronic diseases".  

Sharqiya Police Department summoned Mr Mamdouh for questioning on Monday in order to check his story and whether he wanted to “tarnish the country’s reputation”, according to local media.

Arrests for social media posts have become increasingly common in Egypt, as President Fattah al-Sisi’s regime has cracked down on dissenting opinions and "immoral" behaviour.

Ministry spokesperson Khaled Megahed insisted yesterday (MON) that at all Egyptian hospitals have sufficient oxygen supplies to treat Covid-19 patients.  

He urged all media outlets and social media users to "seek accuracy before spreading inaccurate or false information that may cause panic among people".

A similar incident at another hospital in Gharbiya Governorate, where a 67-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman are alleged to have died due to a lack of oxygen, is also under investigation.