Bahrain sees ‘positive signs’

BAHRAIN is witnessing positive signs of ‘flattening the Covid-19 infection curve’ which reflects public commitment, a senior medic said.

National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (Covid-19) senior member Dr Jameela Al Salman urged citizens and residents to continue adhering to precautionary measures ‘to achieve the desired goal of eliminating the virus’.

Bahrain is witnessing a steady drop in daily Covid-19 cases during the last four days after registering a record 3,274 infections on May 29.

However, the numbers dropped to 2,484 the next day, followed by 2,375 and 2,259 on Tuesday.

Infections dropped further to 1,936 on Wednesday, hitting the below-2,000 mark for the first time in last 20 days.

“There are positive signs of flattening the curve, and we need everyone’s commitment, as we have seen in recent days, to achieve the desired results,” said Dr Al Salman, who is also Infectious and Internal Diseases consultant at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).

She was speaking at a Press conference held remotely from the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research, Riffa.

She called upon people to register for vaccination, including the booster shot which would develop the immune system through the formation of antibodies.

She highlighted the 665 fatalities this year and said 94pc of them were unvaccinated while the remaining six pc who had taken the jabs had chronic diseases.

The steady fall in cases comes as Bahrain enters the second week of a partial closure of retail trade outlets and services involving customers from May 27 until June 10.

The medic said people with Covid-19 symptoms should call 444 as delays in reporting the infection had resulted in several patients’ health conditions deteriorating rapidly.

“We call on everyone, especially the elderly, to report symptoms quickly so that they can be taken to health facilities for treatment, if necessary.”

Dr Al Salman was speaking alongside Health Ministry Under-Secretary Dr Waleed Al Manea, Taskforce Monitoring Committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani and Interior Ministry Public Security Operations Director Colonel Hamad Al Khayyat.

Meanwhile, Dr Al Manea highlighted the vaccination campaigns which have proved to be a huge success.

Bahrain last week announced that it would provide 31,000 shots of Covid-19 vaccines through 31 centres across the kingdom. Details of the available vaccines have been listed on the BeAware app and the Health Ministry’s website.

“We have reduced the waiting period for vaccinations, which now ranges from one to five days,” said Dr Al Manea.

However, he said many people were not sticking to their appointments which has led to delay and crowding at vaccination centres.

He added that 90pc of individuals who have registered for vaccines have received their shots – with 96pc of them receiving it on time.

“We have the capacity to vaccinate 31,000 people every day. However, some failed to adhere to the deadlines set for them and as a result the jabs rate fell to 26,000.

“Vaccination plays a major role in providing protection by limiting impact to moderate and mild symptoms in case of infection with the virus, which otherwise may require intensive care treatment. It may even lead to death.”

Dr Al Manea also confirmed that work has been done to raise the capacity of treatment centres for medium and critical cases. The GDN reported last week that a new treatment facility opened at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre will follow up on existing Covid-19 cases in accordance with recently updated protocols.

This adds to the existing centres including five areas inside the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) and others across Bahrain.

Source: https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/946812/Bahrain-sees-%E2%80%98positive-signs%E2%80%99