Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: The vaccination campaign which led to 94 per cent of the citizens and residents got jabs and 84 per cent eligible population received their booster dose that have kept the pandemic under control so far.
The National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Thursday during a Press Conference held remotely from the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research at the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital, to highlight impact of precautionary measures taken to mitigate the spread of Omicron, the latest variant of the COVID-19, under control.
Dr. Waleed Khalifa Al Manea, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, and member of the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19) sharing updates on the pandemic situation said that the elevated level of vaccination and booters have helped to keep the situation in control. “Around 94 per cent of the eligible of the total population got vaccination and 84 per cent eligible got their booster doses has yielded positive results.
“There will be change in PCR test for passengers’ arrivals and departures ahead of 72 hours of departure or arrivals the PCR test is required effective January 9. The PCR fee has been reduced 66 per cent to BD12.”
“The intensification of PCR tests and quarantine of 12 days for passengers are steps in direction of controlling the spread of Omicron variant in Bahrain. So far, the situation is well under control, but these steps are also important to maintain the capacity of the hospitals across the country.
“It is strongly recommended to get PCR test if any of the symptoms such as difficulty in breathing, important to dealing with this situation, to cope with the situation following the recovery of the new variant Omicron.
“In Bahrain rates are very low for the new infections, thanks to the effective vaccination across the board, if anyone gets symptoms should immediate take measures and get test immediately in addition to the other steps,” he said.
Replying to a question that if the fourth booster jab could increase the immunity five times against the COVID-19, he said that was no such study, yet which supports this assumption.
Lt. Col. Doctor Manaf Al Qahtani, Infectious Disease Consultant and Microbiologist at the BDF Hospital and member of the National Medical Taskforce for Combating COVID-19, urged everyone to show responsibility by adopting the precautionary measures at the early stage.
So far, he said, the efforts to combat the spread of the COVID-19 has been extraordinarily successful as there despite the number of infections there were not much alarming number of serious illnesses reported so far.
“Vaccination is the only way to deal with this pandemic and we remain committed to the traffic light system to manage the situation. Also, if there are any symptoms the test and other measures should be adopted in line with the efforts to control the infection rate.”
