Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: The Ministry of Health has reported 705 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday out of which 576 cases are contacts of the active cases.
The number of critical cases reaching 40 and one death reported on Thursday taking the total death tally to 217 from the COVID-19.
Out of 12796 COVID-19 tests carried out on 17 September 2020, 705 new cases have been detected among 119 expatriate workers, 576 new cases are contacts of active cases, and 10 are travel related. There were 643 recoveries from the COVID-19, increasing total recoveries to 56807, the Ministry of Health confirms on its website.
The National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in its briefing highlighted that the number of active COVID-19 cases has increased over the past two weeks, surpassing 750 cases on some of the previous days, due to non-compliance of health and precautionary guidelines during the Ashura holidays.
The Taskforce underscored the importance of social responsibility to safeguard individuals, families and the community, by vigilantly adhering to all health guidelines aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus, reducing infection rates and flattening the curve. The Taskforce noted that the virus does not discriminate between race, religion, or faith and therefore unified efforts are required to ensure a commitment to following all precautionary measures aimed at preserving the health of the community.
The Taskforce stressed the importance of safeguarding the community as a national duty, as reflected in the national efforts of frontline workers who tirelessly work around the clock to support monitoring and mitigation efforts. The Taskforce noted that following all precautionary guidelines and social distancing measures are important to mitigating the spread of the virus, and have been introduced based on scientific facts, and international statistics and data on the virus.
The Taskforce added that official statistics have revealed a spike in active COVID-19 cases due to an increase in social and religious gatherings during the Ashura holidays, as a result of non-compliance to precautionary health measures that have been put in place in partnership with the Jaffaria Waqf Directorate and the heads of the Ma’atams in Bahrain.
