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Rabat – Nearly 191 doctors in Algeria have reportedly died due to the COVID-19 virus since the outbreak began in March 2020, according to the Algerian Syndicate of Public Health Practitioners.
Algerian newspaper Liberty quoted the head of the union, Ilias Merabet, saying, “We have recorded the death of 191 doctors due to Covid 19 since the outbreak of the epidemic in March 2020, and 240 deaths among professionals in the sector, in addition to the infection of more than 17,000 professionals.”
He added that at least 46 health professionals died of Covid last month alone, noting that such a situation could be detrimental to the morale of those in the sector.
The head of the pediatrics department at the Children’s Hospital of Setif in Algeria, Professor Belkacem Bayoudh, painted a sad picture of the unfortunate conditions plaguing the country.
Bayoudh said that “practicing the medical profession has become synonymous with suffering, as the stress associated with the Covid-19 epidemic, which has been raging for more than a year and a half, has led to a state of occupational burnout among a large part of health sector professionals.”
He explained how health professionals often report sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, irritability, and anxiety associated with going to the hospital every day, adding, “when we witness the loss of about forty professionals in a matter of a few months, it becomes easy for some to think of leaving public institutions.”
He continued, “We have to ask ourselves whether we are really able to preserve and protect health professionals – in the broadest sense of the word – as well as those who receive treatment.”
The country is currently experiencing a wave of Covid-19 infections that have spread through its medical institutions. One of the main challenges the Algerian health sector now faces is the scarcity of medical oxygen tanks, crucial for the survival of thousands of suffering patients affected by the outbreak of the delta mutant.
The Pasteur Institute in Algeria indicated that this highly contagious mutant has represented 71% of active COVID-19 cases in the country, indicating that it may exceed 90% in the coming weeks.
Hospitals are witnessing a huge influx of patients under the scarcity of oxygen, which has caused the death of many patients undergoing treatment.
Algeria recorded 4,370 deaths from Coronavirus, while the infection rate is now witnessing a significant increase this month, as it moved from 449 cases on July 1, to 1537 cases on July 29.
Morocco is also experiencing a rise in positive covid-19 cases, but the country is maintaining a relatively low death rate, and has not noted any medical infrastructure failures or worries.
