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QNA
Doha
The number of COVID-19 infections among Qataris and residents has witnessed a noticeable increase during the past week due to non-compliance with the precautionary and preventive measures and lack of commitment to social distancing during the Holy Month of Ramadan, a senior health official has said.
He said the number of people recovering from the virus has also increased and the recoveries will further increase during the coming period.
“The total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Qatar has reached 28,272. In the past 24 hours, 1,733 new cases were recorded, the highest since the beginning of the monitoring and recording of cases in the country,” Dr Abdullatif al Khal, Co-Chair of the National Pandemic Preparedness Committee and Head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation, said during a joint press conference with National Lead for Healthy Ageing of the Ministry of Public Health Dr Hanadi al Hamad.
He said although most of the new cases are for expatriate workers, the past week witnessed a rise in the number of infected people among Qataris and residents by about 50 percent compared to two weeks ago.
He said the increase in cases during the past days was due to non-compliance with social distancing measures during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Dr Khal warned against gatherings and social meetings during the remaining days of the holy month, as well as during the days of Eid Al Fitr, saying that people must adhere to preventive measures and social distancing, and stay at home, especially during Eid Al Fitr.
During the past seven days, he said, the number of cases has increased to more than 1,000 every day.
“This increase means that the virus is at the beginning of the peak and has not reached its peak yet, indicating that the number of daily infections after the peak phase becomes approximately equal to a given period before it begins to decline,” he added.
Dr Khal said there has been a steady increase in the number of daily tests, which reflects the large increase in the capacity of the central laboratories, as the number of tests reached more than 7,400 samples per day, predicting an increase in the number of examinations during the next two weeks.
Majority of the number of discovered infections were for those in the 25-34 age group, constituting 36.7 percent, followed by the 35-44 age group (29.8 percent), while the rest is for other age groups, including children and the elderly.
As many as 82 people have been admitted to intensive care between May 7 and 13, he said, adding that 11-15 cases are being admitted to the ICU daily.
He said most of these cases are already in hospitals and only a few come to the hospital with advanced condition of the disease and requires to be admitted to intensive care.
He called on everyone who suffers from symptoms of the virus to quickly go to the emergency if the situation gets worse, or call 16000 or go to the nearby health center in case the symptoms are mild.
Dr Khal warned that the age group between 40 to 49 years constitutes 32 percent of the cases that receive intensive care, followed by the age group between 50 to 59 years, which represents 22 percent, while the age group 30 to 39 years represents 21 percent of the cases that need intensive care.
He said 40 percent of those receiving treatment in intensive care currently need artificial respiration, and 60 percent receive intensive treatment without the need for a ventilator, while the percentage of those who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (in the event of total lung failure), is 4 percent of the total cases in intensive care.
Dr Khal said that 417 cases entered intensive care since the start of the pandemic in Qatar, 265 of them recovered, and 14 people died, while 138 people are still in intensive care, 55 of them are on ventilators, and six people are on membrane oxygenator.
The number of people who recovered from coronavirus during the past week reached 11,00, indicating that recovery is confirmed after two tests conducted in two consecutive days and after 10 days when the symptoms disappear.
Dr Khal said the percentage of mild cases in Qatar is still at 94 percent and the percentage of severe infections is six percent, of whom 5 percent are hospitalised and need oxygen treatment and medicine, and 1 percent of those are in intensive care.
Dr Khal presented the results of the drive-through coronavirus (COVID-19) survey carried out by the Ministry of Public Health, which included 1,308 male and female subjects with no symptoms, and the percentage of those infected was 11.9 percent.
“This result gives an indication of the seriousness of the virus. This means that out of every 100 people in the community, there are 12 cases who do not have any symptoms,” he added.
Dr Khal said the recommendation to wear masks came as a result of knowing more about the nature and severity of the virus, as it was noted that the countries that adopted wearing masks controlled the spread of the virus better than countries that did not adopt this strategy, which prompted many countries around the world to adopt this policy of wearing masks outside houses, a policy that has had important results in reducing the spread of the pandemic.
Dr Khal said wearing of surgical masks, even if it helped to limit the spread of the virus, is not the only way to prevent infection. “Rather, it is an important policy that must be accompanied by other precautionary measures such as social distancing, maintaining a safe distance and avoiding crowded places, and using hand sanitizers and washing hands frequently,” he said.
He stressed that wearing the mask protects people from infection and prevents the transmission of infection to others, especially since a significant percentage of the public may be positive without having symptoms.
Dr Khal stressed that the mask limits infection, and reduces the possibility of infecting healthy people. However, he cautioned that wearing the mask does not mean not to follow other procedures, most important of which is social distancing.
Doha
The number of COVID-19 infections among Qataris and residents has witnessed a noticeable increase during the past week due to non-compliance with the precautionary and preventive measures and lack of commitment to social distancing during the Holy Month of Ramadan, a senior health official has said.
He said the number of people recovering from the virus has also increased and the recoveries will further increase during the coming period.
“The total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Qatar has reached 28,272. In the past 24 hours, 1,733 new cases were recorded, the highest since the beginning of the monitoring and recording of cases in the country,” Dr Abdullatif al Khal, Co-Chair of the National Pandemic Preparedness Committee and Head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation, said during a joint press conference with National Lead for Healthy Ageing of the Ministry of Public Health Dr Hanadi al Hamad.
He said although most of the new cases are for expatriate workers, the past week witnessed a rise in the number of infected people among Qataris and residents by about 50 percent compared to two weeks ago.
He said the increase in cases during the past days was due to non-compliance with social distancing measures during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
Dr Khal warned against gatherings and social meetings during the remaining days of the holy month, as well as during the days of Eid Al Fitr, saying that people must adhere to preventive measures and social distancing, and stay at home, especially during Eid Al Fitr.
During the past seven days, he said, the number of cases has increased to more than 1,000 every day.
“This increase means that the virus is at the beginning of the peak and has not reached its peak yet, indicating that the number of daily infections after the peak phase becomes approximately equal to a given period before it begins to decline,” he added.
Dr Khal said there has been a steady increase in the number of daily tests, which reflects the large increase in the capacity of the central laboratories, as the number of tests reached more than 7,400 samples per day, predicting an increase in the number of examinations during the next two weeks.
Majority of the number of discovered infections were for those in the 25-34 age group, constituting 36.7 percent, followed by the 35-44 age group (29.8 percent), while the rest is for other age groups, including children and the elderly.
As many as 82 people have been admitted to intensive care between May 7 and 13, he said, adding that 11-15 cases are being admitted to the ICU daily.
He said most of these cases are already in hospitals and only a few come to the hospital with advanced condition of the disease and requires to be admitted to intensive care.
He called on everyone who suffers from symptoms of the virus to quickly go to the emergency if the situation gets worse, or call 16000 or go to the nearby health center in case the symptoms are mild.
Dr Khal warned that the age group between 40 to 49 years constitutes 32 percent of the cases that receive intensive care, followed by the age group between 50 to 59 years, which represents 22 percent, while the age group 30 to 39 years represents 21 percent of the cases that need intensive care.
He said 40 percent of those receiving treatment in intensive care currently need artificial respiration, and 60 percent receive intensive treatment without the need for a ventilator, while the percentage of those who require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (in the event of total lung failure), is 4 percent of the total cases in intensive care.
Dr Khal said that 417 cases entered intensive care since the start of the pandemic in Qatar, 265 of them recovered, and 14 people died, while 138 people are still in intensive care, 55 of them are on ventilators, and six people are on membrane oxygenator.
The number of people who recovered from coronavirus during the past week reached 11,00, indicating that recovery is confirmed after two tests conducted in two consecutive days and after 10 days when the symptoms disappear.
Dr Khal said the percentage of mild cases in Qatar is still at 94 percent and the percentage of severe infections is six percent, of whom 5 percent are hospitalised and need oxygen treatment and medicine, and 1 percent of those are in intensive care.
Dr Khal presented the results of the drive-through coronavirus (COVID-19) survey carried out by the Ministry of Public Health, which included 1,308 male and female subjects with no symptoms, and the percentage of those infected was 11.9 percent.
“This result gives an indication of the seriousness of the virus. This means that out of every 100 people in the community, there are 12 cases who do not have any symptoms,” he added.
Dr Khal said the recommendation to wear masks came as a result of knowing more about the nature and severity of the virus, as it was noted that the countries that adopted wearing masks controlled the spread of the virus better than countries that did not adopt this strategy, which prompted many countries around the world to adopt this policy of wearing masks outside houses, a policy that has had important results in reducing the spread of the pandemic.
Dr Khal said wearing of surgical masks, even if it helped to limit the spread of the virus, is not the only way to prevent infection. “Rather, it is an important policy that must be accompanied by other precautionary measures such as social distancing, maintaining a safe distance and avoiding crowded places, and using hand sanitizers and washing hands frequently,” he said.
He stressed that wearing the mask protects people from infection and prevents the transmission of infection to others, especially since a significant percentage of the public may be positive without having symptoms.
Dr Khal stressed that the mask limits infection, and reduces the possibility of infecting healthy people. However, he cautioned that wearing the mask does not mean not to follow other procedures, most important of which is social distancing.
