Active cases drop 97pc

BAHRAIN has registered a significant drop in the number of daily active cases of the coronavirus in the past three months, according to a top medic.

Proactive measures taken by the government can be credited with the 97 per cent fall, which is lower than levels recorded since the beginning of the pandemic last year, said National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus monitoring committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani.

He pointed out that from a peak of 28,798 cases on May 29, active infection cases dropped to 967 on September 7, reflecting a drop of 96.6pc.

“The speed of response is critical along with thoughtful proactive measures,” Lt Col Dr Al Qahtani said in a tweet yesterday.

“Like many countries, Bahrain also witnessed a sharp increase (in cases), most recently due to the Delta variant.

“However, we took control of the situation, and thanks to God, we are back to levels lower than we have seen since the beginning of the pandemic,” he added.

Daily active Covid-19 cases drop by 96.6pc in Bahrain

The GDN reported last month that during May and June the kingdom had witnessed the dominance of the Delta variant of the virus.

According to a local study, ‘Morbidity and mortality from Covid-19 post-vaccination breakthrough infections in association with various Covid-19 vaccines and the emergence of variants in Bahrain’, 50pc of the cases in the country were due to the Delta variant by May 1.

A graphical representation of the status of Covid-19 cases in Bahrain shared by Dr Al Qahtani showed that the discovery of the first Delta variant case in Bahrain was on April 18.

The variant is a highly contagious coronavirus strain which was first identified in India in December last year, later spreading to the UK before reaching the US where it is now the predominant variant.

Lt Col Dr Al Qahtani’s reassuring statements come as Bahrain makes steady progress towards achieving ‘herd immunity’ with more than 70pc of its population vaccinated against the infection.

The GDN reported yesterday that ‘herd immunity’, or ‘population immunity’, is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous infection.

This is achieved when around 80-90pc of the population secures Covid-19 immunity, either through prior infection or vaccination.

Bahrain would need to inoculate an estimated 1,200,000 people with two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine to achieve ‘herd immunity’.

The country has also been recording progress in other parameters of the infection – including deaths, recoveries, and cases under treatment.

As of Sunday, there are only two critical cases, while five are receiving treatment.

The high recovery rate in Bahrain which now stands at 99pc has been credited to its TTT policy – Trace, Test and Treat – a proven strategy which tracks people infected and traces their contacts, helping to reduce the spread of the virus.

The strategy was backed by an active daily polymerase chain reaction – PCR tests for Covid-19, which crossed 6 million last week.

Source: https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/976929/Active-cases-drop-97pc