Nurse 'sexually abuses' COVID-19 patient in Egypt, lands in custody

Cairo: Egyptian police have arrested a male nurse over allegations of having sexually abused a woman who was ill with the coronavirus. It is the latest in a series of such cases in the country.

The patient, aged 23, reported to police that the nurse had sexually harassed her and touched her genitalia while she was under quarantine in a hospital in the quarter of Dokki near Cairo, Al Watan newspaper said.

“I went to the hospital and was isolated to receive treatment for corona,” Al Masry Al Youm newspaper quoted the woman as saying. “Despite my suffering, the nurse abused me verbally and attempted to sexually assault me,” she added.

In response, police checked the surveillance cameras in the place and listened to eyewitnesses. The 35-year-old nurse was arrested for interrogation.

In recent months, Egyptian authorities have stepped up a clampdown on sex offences.

Prosecutors are currently investigating a high-profile case related to a purported gang rape of a girl inside a luxury hotel in Cairo more than six years ago.

In a separate case, a young Egyptian is set to stand a criminal trial on charges of sexually assaulting and blackmailing three underage girls.

The defendant has recently been at the centre of online accusations of alleged mass sex assaults, triggering an outcry in the country.