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BAHRAIN recorded another 240 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday, bringing the total active cases to 4,306.
Of yesterday’s new cases 139 were among migrant workers, 98 were contacts of existing cases and three were travel related.
The Health Ministry yesterday revealed that of the total active cases, only 30 are receiving treatment, while seven remain in critical condition.
The ministry also announced that 223 people left treatment and isolation facilities yesterday, bringing the total number of recoveries in the country to 4,096.
However, health officials said despite an increase in numbers there was no need for a curfew to be imposed in Bahrain.
Health Ministry Under-Secretary Dr Waleed Al Manea said during a Press briefing yesterday that a curfew did not suit the existing situation in Bahrain, which is being assessed on a daily basis.
“A curfew does not suit the needs of our current state,” said Dr Al Manea.
“We are always studying the available information and the assessment standards, a curfew does not suit the situation that we are assessing on a daily basis.
“All we ask is for the people of Bahrain to not gather and abide by the standards of social distancing, and wear masks.
“The Health Ministry is keen to expand the scope and numbers of daily checks to catch these cases early and isolate them as quickly as possible; to this day we have done more than 262,000 tests.”
He also reiterated that the capacity of the isolation and treatment centres is being increased based on cases and developments.
“The capacity of the isolation and treatment centres is 6,451 beds, of which 4,289 beds are occupied,” he added.
“While the capacity of the precautionary quarantine centres is 2,930 beds, of which only 403 are occupied.”
Also present at the Press conference was SMC infectious and internal diseases consultant Dr Jameela Al Salman, who said Bahrain was on its way to flattening the curve and decreasing the number of new cases.
“What’s important is the number of tests being done,” she said.
“The more we increase the number of tests, and thankfully we in the Kingdom of Bahrain are amongst the top countries in the world in increasing testing, the more we identify these cases.
“Another important factor is how much people abide by social distancing, wearing masks and all these preventative measures which will go a long way in reducing the number of cases and flattening the curve.”
National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus (Covid-19) monitoring committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani also said during the Press briefing that new cadres of medical professionals are being trained to help combat the pandemic.
“Work is underway to expand the scope of training for all medical and nursing staff to be able to deal with all developments and implement all plans developed for different scenarios,” he said.
“To date, more than 1,500 doctors, nurses and associated medical professionals have been trained.
“The training included various intensive workshops and the latest methods for fighting and treating Covid-19, as well as in ways of dealing with existing cases.”
Lt Col Dr Al Qahtani also discussed the latest updates in the country’s application of plasma therapy, a new treatment under trial.
The process involves taking antibody-rich plasma from recovered Covid-19 patients and injecting it into people who have severe cases of the disease.
“We will soon announce the results of the study we conducted on plasma therapy, in co-operation with the Irish University, the Health Ministry, government agencies and the BDF Hospital, and we are waiting to complete the number of patients we are studying,” he said.
“The results so far indicate that they have reduced how much each case has needed to use the ventilator; these things will be confirmed in the coming Press conferences.”
Lt Col Dr Al Qahtani also addressed the proper disposal of gloves and masks in public areas and warned people against throwing them on the ground.
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