Hossam Abdel Ghafer said that in the past three days that the people most likely to suffer from heat stroke are the elderly and children, as well as people with heart disease and high blood pressure.
Abdel Ghafar also called on citizens to transfer any patient suffering from the symptoms of heatstroke -- especially if they have fainted -- to the nearest fever hospital.
He also denied rumours that there has been a viral outbreak in Egypt, prescribing the deaths instead to the extreme heat.
"We do not have a viral outbreak in Egypt. What we have is a heat wave that can cause death like any other country in the world," Abdel Ghafar told Ahram Online.
He gave the example of a heat wave that killed over 1000 people in India.
"The ministry of health has been transparent since day one regarding the numbers of victims in the heat wave. If there is a viral outbreak, we will not hide it," he added.
The health ministry also announced that ten patients from El-Khanka psychiatric hospital in Qalioubiya governorate have also died as a result of the heat wave.
The interior ministry reported on Tuesday that three detainees in Shubra El-Kheima police station died in custody due to the heat, over-crowding and a bad ventilation system.
[ahram.org.eg]
11/8/15
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Egypt's state news agency says 21 more people have died due to a scorching heat wave, raising this week's death toll to more than 60...
ReplyDeleteThe official MENA news agency said Wednesday that the latest deaths are from the previous day, mostly elderly people. It says 581 people are in hospital for heat exhaustion.
The Mideast has been hit by a heat wave since late July. Egyptian summers are usually hot, but temperatures this week soared to 46 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit) in the south.
At least 40 people had died on Sunday and Monday, including detainees and patients in a psychiatric hospital, according to officials. It wasn't immediately clear whether Tuesday's death toll includes a German national living in the southern city of Luxor who died from heatstroke.
AP
dailystar.com.lb
12/8/15