MANAMA: More than two million coronavirus (Covid-19) tests have been conducted so far, covering over 50 per cent of Bahrain’s population, it was revealed.
This proves that the kingdom is on the right track to combat the virus, said Health Ministry Under-Secretary Dr Waleed Al Manea yesterday.
He attributed the achievement to the dedication of frontline workers who performed the nasal swabs for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests.
“The milestone enhances the kingdom’s rank internationally, which is very advanced in terms of the percentage of examinations per 1,000 people,” he said.
“With these tests, more than 50pc of the population has been tested at least once, which is a major achievement.”
He said the UK’s adding Bahrain to the list of safe countries confirms the success of the kingdom’s proactive steps to combat the virus.
Dr Al Manea was speaking during an online Press conference from the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research at the BDF. Also present were National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus (Covid-19) member Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani and taskforce member and Salmaniya Medical Complex Infectious and Internal Diseases consultant Dr Jameela Al Salman.
Dr Al Manea also highlighted that Bahrain has placed orders for more than one million Covid-19 vaccines from several companies.
“Once they are approved by the National Health Regulatory Authority and international health organisations, Bahrain will be one of the first countries to provide it to its people,” he said.
The GDN reported last week that Health Minister Faeqa Al Saleh confirmed that the country will secure vaccines developed by German company BioNTech and US firm Pfizer, British AstraZeneca and the Chinese Sinopharm.
Dr Al Manea also noted that only 6.6 per cent of the capacity of the isolation and treatment centres were occupied, which is 416 beds out of 6,346 beds, while 1,094 people were on home isolation.
The percentage of people recovering from the total number of existing cases reached 97.84pc while the death rate is 0.39pc.
Dr Al Manea said the target was to eradicate the virus which required commitment to health guidelines.
Kingdom of Bahrain
— وزارة الصحة | مملكة البحرين 🇧🇭 (@MOH_Bahrain) November 25, 2020
Has achieved over two million COVID-19 tests
Thanks to our frontline heroes#Commit4Bahrain#TeamBahrain pic.twitter.com/gj7iL3GsGD
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