Get vaccinated and strictly adhere to all precautionary measures: Bahrain Health

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain is stepping up its efforts to fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) while cautiously easing restrictions on certain activities.

Starting yesterday, the Kingdom relaxed restrictions on restaurants and cafes, schools, mosques and indoor activities at gyms and swimming pools.

Restaurants and cafes are now allowed to resume their indoor dining services by exercising a cap of 30 people at a time.

The new decision also allows students to take in-person classes at private and public schools, institutions for higher educations, public and private universities, kindergartens, rehabilitation centres, nurseries, private training centres and institutes.

During a press conference held yesterday, the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19) members once again stressed the importance of adhering to precautionary measures.

Health Ministry Undersecretary Dr Waleed Khalifa Al Manea highlighted the success in working with manufacturers to make vaccines available for all citizens and residents free of charge, the most recent of which was the delivery of 300,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines.

He noted that the Kingdom remains focussed on reaching vulnerable citizens at the greatest risk of developing complications from COVID-19, including those over 70 and those with underlying conditions or with a BMI of 25 and above.

Dr Al Manea also urged patients to arrive on time for their scheduled drive-thru COVID-19 test at Bahrain International Exhibition & Convention Centre or at the Bahrain International Circuit, which is being used as a temporary COVID-19 testing site for all travel-related testing scheduled between 8 and 20 March.

The current recovery rate is 94.84% with a 0.37% death rate.

Isolation centre capacity stands at 27%, with 1,502 out of 5,569 beds occupied, and 4,750 asymptomatic cases are under optional home self-isolation after meeting the requirements to do so.

 Lt. Col. Manaf Al Qahtani, Infectious Disease Consultant and Microbiologist at the BDF Hospital, said that vaccines reduce the risk of serious complications associated with COVID-19, including death, and are effective in slowing existing and new variants.

Dr Manaf added that the Kingdom has authorised five different vaccines, with high safety and efficacy profiles, to accelerate immunisation rates and increase availability, noting that comparing efficacy rates among vaccines can be misleading and should not be a basis for decision-making.

Bahrain has authorised the emergency use of Pfizer/BioNTech, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca’s Covishield, Sputnik V and most recently the one-shot Johnson & Johnson.

Dr Jameela Al Salman, Consultant of Infectious and Internal Diseases at Salmaniya Medical Complex, reaffirmed the importance of taking precautions, and carefully disclosing all information relating to contacts to break the chains of infection.

She urged everyone to register for vaccination by visiting https://healthalert.gov.bh/en/ including pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers who can be vaccinated safely.