Restriction woes among Bahrain's business community as Covid-19 cases rise

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

Retailers, restaurant owners and small-scale business owners are worried over the rise in Covid-19 numbers during the past two days as they fear a new round of restrictions in the coming days.

The Covid numbers saw a rise last Thursday when the reported new cases stood at 658 against 376 last Wednesday.

Last Friday recorded 680 Covid cases while Saturday’s data showed 641 new cases. Yesterday, the number rose to 728.

Speaking to The Daily Tribune, a retail shop owner said that there are worries about an impending fourth wave among the trading community in general.

“But the Kingdom’s success on the vaccination front is what gives the trading community the hope to move forward confidently. We hope there won’t be any lockdowns in the future, at least for one year.”

A restaurateur said his business has been gradually improving since last February and hoped there wouldn’t be lockdowns or other forms of restrictions in the future.

“Our lives will come to a standstill if any restrictions or lockdowns happen in the future. The food industry was the most affected during the pandemic period and it is now on the path of recovery.

“The Kingdom has been number one in terms of administering vaccines and precautionary measures. Let’s hope the fourth wave doesn’t touch the country,” he added.

The Daily Tribune earlier reported that five individuals infected with the virus died last month as the number of new cases stabilised since the beginning of April, 2022.

Steep decline

Highlighting the Kingdom’s success in the battle against the virus, the number is a steep decline when compared to last February, which saw 46 Covid-19 deaths, the highest monthly death number during the third wave of infection.

Having approved eight vaccines to be administered to the public in its battle against Covid-19 vaccine, the Kingdom now stands fourth along with Botswana, Cambodia, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Vietnam in the matter of giving nod to different anti-Covid vaccines.

India and Mexico, which have approved 10 anti-Covid vaccines top the list. The two countries are followed by Argentina, Nepal, Moldova, Hungary and Ecuador with each of them approving nine different vaccines.

Bahrain became the first country in the world last month to authorise, receive and administer Valneva’s Covid-19 vaccine manufactured by the French biotech major.

The Kingdom was one of the first countries to provide access to all FDA approved vacations, with other effective vaccines, such as Sinopharm, also being made available. Elsewhere, most entry restrictions for those arriving in Bahrain have been removed and Bahrain International Airport is in the process of introducing a dedicated medical protocol for COVID-19 cases.

A robust multi-lingual media strategy underpins Bahrain’s public awareness campaign, which delivers regular pandemic developments, reiterates the necessity of following restrictions, and promotes getting vaccinated.

Efforts praised

Earlier, the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, praised the efforts of the Kingdom in supporting the organisation’s role in facing Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

He lauded the Kingdom’s remarkable role in curbing the spread of the virus by taking effective preventive measures.
He also praised Bahrain’s solidarity with the other member states of the organisation in taking comprehensive measures and unifying efforts to quickly find the necessary treatment.

Billionaire Bill Gates, now considered a major public health expert, last week warned that Covid pandemic is far from over, with the worst remaining yet to unfold. Stressing on the need for increasing global surveillance, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist warned of the likelihood of an even more fatal and transmissive variant of Covid, the Financial Times reported.

Gates stated that even though he does not want to sound gloomy, yet the risk of a more virulent variant is more than five per cent.

Risk of pandemic

“We’re still at risk of this pandemic generating a variant that would be even more transmissive and even more fatal,” he was quoted as saying.

“It’s not likely, I don’t want to be a voice of doom and gloom, but it’s way above a 5 per cent risk that this pandemic, we haven’t even seen the worst of it,” he added. This is not the first time that Gates warned of a potential global threat posed by viruses.

In 2015, he first cautioned publicly that the “world was not ready for the inevitable next pandemic” and that viruses, not war, pose the greatest risk of “global catastrophe”. Gates also called for renewed efforts with greater investments into global surveillance of viruses, which has been paused by a number of countries in the wake of decline in Covid cases.

Gates has also written a book on ‘How to Prevent the Next Pandemic’. He has urged for the creation of a team of international experts ranging from epidemiologists to computer modellers to quickly spot global health threats and improve coordination between the countries.

According to him, this would cost around $1 billion, which would be managed by WHO. The Kingdom’s Health Ministry officials could not be reached for a comment.