Veteran Egyptian talk show host Wael El Ebrashy dies of Covid-19

Journalist suffered for months from complications after contracting coronavirus in 2020

Prominent Egyptian journalist and presenter Wael El Ebrashy.

Veteran Egyptian journalist Wael El Ebrashy died on Sunday after suffering for months from complications caused by Covid-19. He was 58.

A funeral for El Ebrashy is set to take place in his hometown of Sherbeen in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya on Monday, his family told local media.

The TV host had a serious bout of Covid-19 diagnosed in 2020 after which he was admitted to an intensive care unit at a local hospital where he remained until March last year.

El Ebrashy reportedly received regular treatments at home for pulmonary fibrosis brought on by his illness.

He insisted his health was on the mend but remained off the air, leaving the millions of viewers who tuned into his show Al Tasea (“9 o'clock”) on national TV in doubt over the real state of his health.

In November, a rumour circulated that he had died. But El Ebrashy quickly issued a statement saying he was receiving treatment to get back to work.

At the time, a prominent health ministry official confirmed on Facebook that the journalist was on the mend, and that he would be returning to screens soon.

El Ebrashy’s stellar career began at one of Egypt’s most famed publications, Rose Al Youssef, where he stayed for several years before moving on to another of the country’s foremost papers, Sout El Oma, until his resignation in 2010.

He then made his move into TV when he began hosting Al Tasea after the late news segment on state television.

He also hosted other prominent talk shows for private networks, including Al Ashera Masaan (“10pm”), Kol Youm (“Every Day”) and Al Haqiqa (“The Truth”).

El Ebrashy was born in 1963.