BAHRAIN has witnessed no Covid-19 deaths for 10 consecutive days, for the first time since January this year.
The kingdom shares the merit with Qatar – the only two GCC countries to have achieved the feat as the remaining four – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Oman – are still recording statistics of heartache and loss as a result of the virus.
Bahrain last registered a death from the virus on July 29, following yet another span of three days without fatalities – July 26 to 28. Qatar also recorded no deaths since July 28.
The UAE saw an average of four deaths daily during this period, having registered 32 fatalities from July 30 until Saturday.
Saudi Arabia recorded 94 deaths in this span – an average of more than 10 a day, while it was 12 for Oman which witnessed 104 deaths in this period. Kuwait tallied up to 57 deaths in this time, making an average of six per day.
Bahrain recorded 32 virus-related fatalities last month, which was the lowest since January which saw 23 deaths. The country has also been registering a major drop in new cases – averaging around 100 a day. Those under critical care and treatment have also dropped to single digits in the last week.
Senior medics have been reiterating the importance of Covid-19 vaccines in minimising the risk of deaths with Health Ministry Under-Secretary Dr Waleed Al Manea terming it as ‘the first line of defence’ against the virus.
The country has successfully vaccinated 90pc of its eligible population until Saturday with 1,063,519 people taking both doses of a vaccine of their choice.
In a timely social media interaction, senior member of the National Taskforce to Combat Coronavirus (Covid-19) Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani cited human life as the most ‘precious’ amidst all the losses from the pandemic.
“Is there anything more precious and more valuable than human health in light of this pandemic?” he asked, reminding people of public commitment and responsibility.
“Each of our decisions are a test of our principles, values and humanity.
“If we put the interest of the homeland and responsibility towards ourselves and others as a priority, it would make us a society free from the evil of this pandemic.
“Not only Bahrain, but the world today, from East to West is in a fierce confrontation with a common enemy – the novel coronavirus,” he said, adding that it knew no geographical borders, nor racial, national, linguistic or religious differences.
The GDN had reported that the country ‘heaved a sigh of relief’ when it recorded no Covid-19 fatalities for two days in a row after 106 days, on July 14. The last such day of no heartbreaks was March 28 – the only day with zero fatalities in a month which saw a total of 72 deaths.
However, since then, the death toll registered an upward trend – with 125 in April, 334 in May and an all-time high of 372 in June. February also saw 74 deaths.
A total of 1,384 individuals have lost their lives since the outbreak of the pandemic, of which 352 died last year. This accounts for 0.51 per cent of the total infections of more than 267,000.
The first death from the virus was on March 16 last year. The 65-year-old Bahraini woman, who was also the first Covid-19 fatality in the GCC, had contracted the virus while outside the country and had underlying chronic health conditions.
raji@gdn.com.bh
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