The statement added that there were at least a dozen other patients admitted to the hospital, including newborns in incubators, who were connected to the same oxygen network and that none were affected, “confirming the lack of connection between the deaths and the reports made. about a lack of oxygen. “
The video clip, of less than a minute, spread quickly and widely on social networks and was broadcast on state television talk shows, where authorities are invited to comment. Asked why relatives were allowed into the isolation wing, the governor of Al Sharqiya, a region northeast of Cairo where the hospital is located, said “there was no visitation” and that the man who filmed inside “invaded the wing” after knowing about the death of your relative.
The New York Times was unable to confirm regardless of whether an interruption or lack of oxygen occurred, but two witnesses contacted by phone contested the official narrative and described a moment of panic among hospital staff that was followed by the sudden death of several patients. They also said they were allowed to visit for an hour every day between 3 pm and 4 pm, a time they used to help feed and exchange sick relatives.
“The doctor assured us that he was in a stable condition, his oxygen level was 95, he was walking and talking, no complaints,” said Barakat Abdel Aziz, 50, talking about his younger brother who died in the hospital that day . Abdel Aziz said he returned at night to leave some food. “Shortly after, there was commotion everywhere; people said the gas was gone and security forces surrounded the hospital. ”
Ahmed Mamdouh, the man who filmed the video, was at the hospital visiting his aunt, who also died.
“Yes, we shouldn’t be around Covid patients, but we came in wearing a mask and that’s what we do to take care of our relatives,” said Mr. Mamdouh, 33. “That day, she was eating yogurt with apples and oranges and meat kofta with rice. “