Take jabs to enter Bahrain malls, markets

Mohd Al Emadi

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Entry to shopping malls, markets, internal services of restaurants, cinemas, and salons will be only for those who had completed 14 days after their second Covid-19 jab, those who have recovered, and those above 18 years of age, Dr Waleed Khalifa Al Manea said. Banks, hospitals and pharmacies are exempted from the above decision, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health said.

The decision also restricts entry to retail shops, indoor services at restaurants, cinemas, salons, and similar places. Service centre and government offices are also limited entry to vaccinated, recovered and aged 18 years and above. Proof of vaccination and recovery on the “BeAware” application is mandatory.

“Today, more than ever, we rely on your awareness and commitment.

Preserving the health of our family members, relatives and loved ones and our society is a shared responsibility that requires full commitment to Covid-19 protocols.”

The solution to the pandemic, he said, not lies in reducing or restricting traffic through our ports but in full adherence to preventive measures. He also pointed out that despite the limited number of existing cases detected in arriving passengers, Bahrain had stringent measures to ensure safety.

Dr Al-Manea said the Kingdom is holding an increased number of checks daily to further strengthening the pandemic battle.

The daily Covid-19 test results show that the prevalence rate remains high within the community and not due to arrivals outside.

“The number of cases detected from people coming from abroad is limited,” he said, adding that the Kingdom detected only 14 cases in arriving passengers yesterday while 2,354 were among people here.

The positive tests rate of travellers who arrived in Bahrain during April was 1.76%. Citing statistics, Dr Al Manea also pointed out that the percentage of existing cases among Bahraini nationals in the total number of cases reached 60% in adults and 42% in children in the age group 0 -18 years.

“This needs to be taken seriously.”

On this note, he urged all to get inoculated and continue adhering to Covid-19 protocols mandated by the Kingdom.

He also revealed identifying an increase in the number of existing cases due to gatherings during the blessed month of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. Contact tracing, he said, revealed the source of those infections as gatherings in homes and residences, which represented 71.3% of the total number of existing cases on 13 May 2021 or 59% of the total number of Covid-19 cases.

Half of the cases were Bahraini nationals. He said the challenge today is reducing the number of existing cases to the previous levels, “for which requires the commitment of every individual and families in the Kingdom.”

Everyone should reinstate their commitment against gatherings in-home and limit that to family members, he urged.

Dr Al Manae also announced increasing the frequency of vaccination by expanding the number of centres to more areas.