As the epidemic of Covid-19 began to surge in August, Libyan ambulance workers confronted a nightmare scenario with skyrocketing cases and dwindling resources to treat them.
The 35-year-old Hamza Abdulrahman Jelwal, who is a supervising nurse at a quarantine centre in Misrata, has not seen his family since Libya’s lockdown started in March. Worse, he has not been paid for his services, Reuters reported. As a result, staff has started to quit because of non-payment of salaries.
Hospitals and clinics also lack adequate material to face the epidemic. There are few ventilators and little other equipment. State funding, regularly hit by shortfalls and delays, has been particularly disrupted this year because of a blockade on oil exports imposed by the Libyan National Army and its allies.
Jelwal tested positive for Covid-19 in August and was quarantined in the same centre. Now he is better and returned to work.
“We work 12 hours a day. It is very tiring for medical staff because there is no rest,” he said.
His experience underscores the high stakes and growing difficulties for Libyan ambulance workers as the number of confirmed cases spikes. Figures have climbed quickly from a few hundred last month to almost around 20,000 at this time.
Stephanie Williams, the United Nations’ Acting Libya Envoy, has told the Security Council that the real number of cases in Libya is almost certainly far higher and that the health system is “unable to respond.”
SHORTAGES AND DELAYS
Despite preventive measures, an outbreak started in July in the southern city of Sebha. Some local people claim that the outbreak was due to the return of Libyans who were flown back home after being stranded abroad.
The virus then spread to Tripoli and Misrata, which are controlled by the Government of National Accord. In eastern Libya, which is controlled by Khalifa Haftar, the city of Benghazi also became a coronavirus cluster.