Two more lose battle to deadly virus

TDT | Manama

When Bahrain recorded its 36th casualty of Coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic yesterday in the form of a 48-year-old Bahraini woman yesterday, it came as a double tragedy to the victim’s family who also lost another member a few days back to the virus. The woman’s father, who contracted the virus during Eid festivities, also lost his battle to the virus just three days ago, said an Al Ayam report.

The bereaved family was yet to come out of that heartbreak, when the tragedy struck them again. Reportedly, the woman’s family members contracted the virus during their Eid Al-Fitr celebration when her brother came in touch with another person, who had the infection. All family members, including their father, who had several underlying diseases, contracted the disease.

The father was hospitalised soon into intensive care. However, despite desperate efforts, the medical team could not save his life. While they are still reeling from the shock of the loss, his 48-year-old daughter also lost her battle to the virus. The ministry of health, in a tweet, said the deceased was an active case and suffered from underlying and chronic health problems.

Fortunately, their mother, Al Ayam report said, is free of the infection. The minister also yesterday tweeted another death from the infection, a 60-year-old expatriate man. He was also a registered active virus case and had underlying and chronic health conditions. The Ministry of Health said it is a difficult time for the individuals’ family and expressed its heartfelt condolences The patients, along with all other active COVID19 cases, had been placed in isolation and received extensive 24-hour treatment from a specialised medical team. 

The latest MoH report said, in Bahrain, there are currently 137 COVID-29 patients, of which 10 people are in a critical condition. The ministry said it conducted 8,916 COVID-19 tests on 11 June 2020 and detected 600 new cases. Out of the newly detected cases, 347 are expatriate workers, 249 are contacts of active cases, and four are travel related.

Officials also recorded 414 recoveries yesterday, increasing total recoveries here to 11,903. There are now 17,269 virus cases in the Kingdom, for which the ministry has conducted over 403,036 tests. The number of active cases in the Kingdom now stands at 5,330, out of which 5,320 patients are health-wise stable.

GCC round up Meanwhile, Coronavirus infections in the six-nation GCC states jumped to 311,321 as the toll rose to 1,667, as of yesterday. Saudi reported 36 more deaths and 3,921 new cases of the disease yesterday. The health ministry there added that 1,010 more people have recovered from the virus, taking the total number of recoveries in the Kingdom to 81,029.

A total of 893 people have died from the virus in the Kingdom so far. The UAE recorded 513 new cases overnight, raising the country’s cases to 41,499. There were also one additional fatalities, putting the toll to 287. Another 1,217 people meanwhile were cleared of COVID-19 infections, bringing patient recoveries to 25,946.

Kuwait yesterday reported 520 new cases of COVID-19 and six more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 34,952 and the death toll to 285. Oman recorded 1,117 new cases, bringing to 21,071 the country’s overall infections. Six more deaths from COVID-19 were reported, raising Oman’s total of such fatalities to 96.