Medical staff members are seen in a hospital in Cairo, Egypt on April 14, 2020. As the spread of coronavirus is growing rapidly in Egypt, the country's first responders are working vigorously and bravely to save lives. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, April 19 (Xinhua) -- As the spread of coronavirus is growing rapidly in Egypt, the country's first responders are working vigorously and bravely to save lives.
Adel Fathy, a paramedic with Egyptian Ambulance Organization (EAO), has been on standby, along with his colleagues at the 6th of October Ambulance Unit near the capital Cairo, for evacuating COVID-19 patients or anyone showing symptoms of the deadly disease.
"Once we get a call from the operation room about a case, we jump into the ambulance, put on the siren and rush to evacuate the case," Fathy told Xinhua as he helped his colleagues disinfect an ambulance that had just arrived at the unit after transferring a case into the quarantine hospital.
The middle-aged man keeps checking the medical equipment mounted on the ambulance to ensure that everything is well prepared for dealing with any emergency cases.
However, handling COVID-19 cases is not an easy job as ambulance teams must pay the utmost attention to avoiding infection during the work.
"We are always the first to deal with the cases. That is why we are always ready wearing protective gowns, masks, boots and gloves," Fathy said.
"Dealing with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases is totally different form the job we have always done throughout our career," he noted.
According to Fathy, the paramedics also play a psychological role.
"Most of the suspected cases are scared, but we keep assuring them that they are fine and will be back home soon even if they were really infected," he explained.
With no complaint of the tough and dangerous work he is doing, Fathy, a father of two children, is very afraid lest he carry the virus home to his family.
"I have learned that some paramedics, doctors and medical workers have been infected with the virus ... I'm really worried about my kids," the Egyptian paramedic said, adding he keeps disinfecting himself, his family members and his house.
Egypt has so far confirmed 3,032 COVID-19 cases, including 224 deaths and 701 recoveries.
Over the past month, Egypt has suspended schools and universities, halted flights, cancelled sports activities, closed entertainment places and malls, stopped mass prayers and shut down museums and archeological sites to combat the virus.
The North African country is currently implementing a nationwide 10-hour curfew for two weeks until April 23 over COVID-19 concerns.
The increasing pressure on ambulance teams across Egypt amid the spread of the coronavirus has led the government to designate a hotline and 10 ambulances for each province to deal with the crisis, Mohamed al-Sherbiny, head of the 6th of October Ambulance Unit, told Xinhua.
"It was unsafe to use the same vehicles to transfer both COVID-19 cases and others like accidents," al-Sherbiny explained.
All paramedics dealing with coronavirus cases have received advanced training to make their tasks easier, safer and more professional, in addition to the availability of all preventive supplies and needed medical equipment, the official noted.
"We work day and night and are always ready to help the government fight the spread of the pandemic," he concluded.
