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CATHERINE W GICHUKI
Doha
The number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Qatar jumped from 24 to 262 in a single day, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced on Wednesday.
All the 238 new cases, the biggest single day jump in Qatar, are expatriates who had contact with the three cases that were declared infected last Sunday and who reside in one residential complex.
The new infected patients were in quarantine as a precautionary measure since the discovery of the three infected cases, which prevented them from contacting other members of society.
So far, the MoPH has conducted more than 6,000 tests and currently, there are around 800 people in the quarantine facility.
“Discovery of these cases doesn’t mean that the virus is widespread in the community, it only shows that Qatar has a very active surveillance mechanism in place,” a top MoPH official said.
“We have conducted more than 6,000 tests, which is the highest in the world after South Korea. We are the second country in the world with this technology to test as much as we can like South Korea. Till now, we have a total of 262 cases without any deaths or any patient in intensive care or with critical conditions. This is to assure all that Qatar’s health care sector is ready. We have around 800 people in quarantine facilities. There was no contamination inside the quarantine,” Sheikh Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Thani, Director of Public Health Department, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
He advised people not to panic as the virus is treatable.
Dr Abdullatif al Khal, Co-chair of the National Epidemic Preparation Committee and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Head of Infectious Diseases Division, said the discovery of the cases was as a result of the aggressive campaign conducted by the ministry.
He said it is likely that the number of people infected with the virus will increase among contacts of the previously announced patients who are now in quarantine.
“They could be in the community spreading the virus. Therefore, this is a very good example of early detection and isolation of positive cases. It does not stop there, the MoPH is continuing with these efforts to screen the contacts of the new cases and screen them again.”
So far, all patients including those who were admitted previously after being diagnosed with COVID-19 are in good health condition, he added.
Besides hand hygiene and personal protective measures, people should avoid unnecessary gatherings and keep distance with those who are obviously sick, he noted.
“People should avoid handshakes, avoid touching eyes and nose after touching surfaces,” he said.
“People should not rush to get tests done on them or their families or nannies. This is not the case and don’t recommend it at all. Only those who are in contact with other confirmed cases, they need to be tested. Also those who came in from countries where the disease is widespread need to be tested,” he added.
Dr Hamad al Rumaihi, Director of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control, said all the new cases were either asymptomatic or mild cases and were detected by the surveillance team in the field when they conducted contact tracing.
All cases are stable and there are no critically ill patients.
“All of them are in good health condition. It is good that we detected these cases early, took them to hospital and isolated them to prevent further spread of the virus. Our aim is to break the chain of transmission and prevent further spreading,” he said.
Doha
The number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Qatar jumped from 24 to 262 in a single day, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced on Wednesday.
All the 238 new cases, the biggest single day jump in Qatar, are expatriates who had contact with the three cases that were declared infected last Sunday and who reside in one residential complex.
The new infected patients were in quarantine as a precautionary measure since the discovery of the three infected cases, which prevented them from contacting other members of society.
So far, the MoPH has conducted more than 6,000 tests and currently, there are around 800 people in the quarantine facility.
“Discovery of these cases doesn’t mean that the virus is widespread in the community, it only shows that Qatar has a very active surveillance mechanism in place,” a top MoPH official said.
“We have conducted more than 6,000 tests, which is the highest in the world after South Korea. We are the second country in the world with this technology to test as much as we can like South Korea. Till now, we have a total of 262 cases without any deaths or any patient in intensive care or with critical conditions. This is to assure all that Qatar’s health care sector is ready. We have around 800 people in quarantine facilities. There was no contamination inside the quarantine,” Sheikh Dr Mohammed bin Hamad al Thani, Director of Public Health Department, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
He advised people not to panic as the virus is treatable.
Dr Abdullatif al Khal, Co-chair of the National Epidemic Preparation Committee and Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Head of Infectious Diseases Division, said the discovery of the cases was as a result of the aggressive campaign conducted by the ministry.
He said it is likely that the number of people infected with the virus will increase among contacts of the previously announced patients who are now in quarantine.
“They could be in the community spreading the virus. Therefore, this is a very good example of early detection and isolation of positive cases. It does not stop there, the MoPH is continuing with these efforts to screen the contacts of the new cases and screen them again.”
So far, all patients including those who were admitted previously after being diagnosed with COVID-19 are in good health condition, he added.
Besides hand hygiene and personal protective measures, people should avoid unnecessary gatherings and keep distance with those who are obviously sick, he noted.
“People should avoid handshakes, avoid touching eyes and nose after touching surfaces,” he said.
“People should not rush to get tests done on them or their families or nannies. This is not the case and don’t recommend it at all. Only those who are in contact with other confirmed cases, they need to be tested. Also those who came in from countries where the disease is widespread need to be tested,” he added.
Dr Hamad al Rumaihi, Director of Health Protection and Communicable Disease Control, said all the new cases were either asymptomatic or mild cases and were detected by the surveillance team in the field when they conducted contact tracing.
All cases are stable and there are no critically ill patients.
“All of them are in good health condition. It is good that we detected these cases early, took them to hospital and isolated them to prevent further spread of the virus. Our aim is to break the chain of transmission and prevent further spreading,” he said.
