Captain's Corner: Getting back to life after the pandemic in Bahrain

By Captain Mahmood Al Mahmood

Some good news at last – as Bahrain prepares to host the F1 at the end of this month, those who have taken the vaccination against COVID-19 and those who have recovered will be eligible for tickets to watch the race.

Going forward this will undoubtedly be the pattern of things to come.

Slowly but surely we shall start to gather our courage and resilience and once again participate in the fullness of Life.

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has also joined the move towards normalcy by partnering with IATA to test the IATA digital Travel Pass to verify a traveller’s COVID-19 tests and vaccination certification.
So this is the future – and it is very much like the past! As a seafaring captain, I remember that we were required to take vaccinations against different health risks for different ports of call.

But then, those were slower paced days and health risks did not spread as quickly around the world as the COVID-19 virus has done.

As we understand the way in which the virus infects people, and more research is done, we return to the time-tested old preventive measures: safety in wearing masks, social distancing and washing our hands.

That too is old-school practice and will stay with us for many generations as a hygiene tradition.
Looking back at the months that we have stayed hidden from the virus, it is understandable that people are frustrated by the barriers to their old ways of enjoying life.

But now the vaccination will help us to adapt and embrace new ways of leisure and entertainment.

Already, online concerts and performances are being accepted and have opened doors to the global artist and audience interaction. You can have a concert beamed from Bahrain and welcome fans from New York without loss of quality!
They say that disasters such as the Plague, the Great London Fire, volcanic eruptions change the way we look at life. In our lifetime, we have lived through one such experience now but thanks to the vigilance and wisdom of Bahrain’s leaders, we have crossed this danger zone with relative safety.

Let us offer our thanks to them and pledge to stay safe and celebrate life in the months ahead.

(Captain Mahmood Al Mahmood is the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Tribune and the President of the Arab-African Unity Organisation for Relief, Human Rights and Counterterrorism)