As announced recently, Qatar is in the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced a significant increase in the daily cases, with 1,177 recorded.
Since registering its first case last month, the new Omicron variant of the virus is spreading rapidly. Dr. Soha Al Bayat, head of vaccination at the MoPH, in a televised interview on Sunday, said that “most of the new COVID-19 cases are related to the Omicron variant.” She added that cases have been rising since November, but a significant spike was seen in the last two weeks.
Globally the variant has caused a surge in hospitalisations and several countries are reintroducing partial lockdown measures and masks mandates.
Qatar has reported over 252,000 cases of the coronavirus, including 618 deaths, since the start of the pandemic. More than five million vaccine doses have been administered so far.
“We were expecting an increase in the number of cases during this period, which is a global increase,” Dr. Soha said during the interview.
“Although symptoms of Omicron are mild without any serious complications, we must not underestimate it. We do not say that it is just ordinary flu because you can infect the elderly and infants.”
PHCC recently sent out a circulation cancelling all current and future vacations for several categories of its employees in a bid to tackle the surge.
According to the statement, those impacted by the decision include nurses, laboratory workers, radiologists, pharmacists, and workers in facilities directly related to dealing with or treating COVID-19 cases.
With COVID-19 still a threat in Qatar, everyone needs to play their role in controlling the virus. Authorities have also encouraged people with mild virus symptoms to isolate themselves at home for 10 days.
The MoPH and Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) have urged citizens and residents to wear their masks in public places and stressed the importance of eligible members of society to get their booster dose without any delay. Health officials announced that people living in Qatar could receive the booster shot at their designated healthcare center without a prior appointment.
The Ministry also indicated that recent studies show the effectiveness of the effect of the booster dose in preventing severe infection against the new variant.
