Egyptian Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli said on Friday that Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar will be in charge of Health Minister Hala Zayed’s duties until her recovery from an illness.
The PM published his decision in the official gazette on Friday to be effective the following day.
Madbouli said he approved a request for sick leave submitted by Zayed, in accordance to Presidential Decree No. 279 of 2018 authorizing the Prime Minister to assign ministers to other ministries if another minister is absent.
On Tuesday, the Health Minister was admitted to a hospital in Cairo where she stayed at the intensive care unit.
Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said that Zayed suffered from a heart attack and that her condition is stable and she is receiving the necessary medical care.
But sources said the minister suffered from hypertension.
Zayed, 54, was appointed as health minister in mid-2018 to become the second Egyptian woman to hold the post.
On Tuesday morning, the minister had announced that a new batch of 250,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the coronavirus arrived in the country. The doses were offered by Hungary as part of the Egyptian state’s plan to expand its vaccination campaign.
Zayed urged the people to register at the ministry's website to get vaccinated, stressing that the Egyptian state spares no effort in providing free vaccines, through cooperation with international organizations and bodies.
