Egypt's Prime Minister Atef Ebeid stood in for President Hosni Mubarak at a religious ceremony Thursday evening after doctors advised the flu-stricken leader to rest, public television reported.
Ebeid replaced Mubarak because the president is "suffering from flu, and following doctors' advice, is resting," a television presenter said at the opening of the ceremony.
The event was organized to mark the Muslim Laylat al-Qadr feast, or Night of Destiny, during which the Quran was revealed to the prophet Mohammad.
The government-owned press announced Thursday that Mubarak would take part in the ceremony and that he was due to deliver a speech at the event.
Meanwhile, the North African country's Information Minister Safwat al-Sherif said Wednesday on television that the president was suffering from "a severe flu, accompanied by fever, he was taking antibiotics and he was fasting" for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Later, Health Minister Awad Taggedine told the television that with "the medication and heat, (Mubarak) felt his blood pressure drop."
Mubarak underwent an "electrocardiogram and tests" during his absence from the chamber, but he is "well and is healthy," Taggedine added.
Taggedine said Mubarak was suffering from a "severe flu," with a fever of 39 degrees celsius on Saturday night, and that doctors had recommended he postpone the speech until November 30, but he refused. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
