MOH: 16 members of a Bahraini family contract COVID-19

TDT | Manama

The Ministry of Health announced yesterday that it has registered 16 active cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) among a single Bahraini family, therefore stressing the importance of following all official health guidelines and social distancing measures intended to mitigate the spread of the disease during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

The family members included the parents, siblings and infants, who were exposed to the virus by one of their family members (case no. 2,930 under the contact-tracing mechanism). The Health Ministry underlined that the family member was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and had not called the designated hotline 444 or self-isolated.

Furthermore, the individual failed to comply with government-issued social-distancing measures, which include limiting social gatherings during Iftar and wearing masks whilst out in public.

The ministry underscored that strictly adhering to official social-distancing guidelines is the responsibility of every individual, and doing so helps to safeguard the wider community.

Furthermore, the Ministry noted that it has increased its testing capacity to ensure the early detection and treatment of active cases. The Health Ministry emphasised that the virus is still in its transmission phase globally, adding that there is currently no cure or vaccination for the illness.

In this regard, the ministry noted that, while the Kingdom’s treatment protocol has been highly successful in mitigating the effects of the virus, halting community transmission is the most effective means to safeguard public health.

The Ministry of Health concluded by stressing the adoption of a “prevention is better than cure” approach, underlining the importance of following all COVID-19 precautionary guidelines issued by the government.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry announced yesterday that it had registered 167 new active cases of COVID-19 in the Kingdom. Of these, 132 are expatriate workers and 35 are contacts of active cases.

The total number of active COVID-19 cases reached 2,863, as of last night. All, except for two of them, are stable. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry also announced yesterday 15 new recoveries. That brings the total number of discharged to 2,070. The total tested rose to 184,029.