The decision to split phase four of lifting COVID-19 restrictions into two segments has been taken as a result of continuous monitoring of the public health indicators and infection rate in the community, said Dr. Yousuf Al Maslamani, Medical Director of Hamad General Hospital.
“Although most community members adhere to the precautionary measures announced by the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), there is still a minority that unfortunately does not, especially when it comes to social gathering. This has caused an increase in the rate of infection amongst the Qatari and professional expatriate community,” he told The Peninsula.
“The situation is being assessed on an ongoing basis. The reimposing or lifting of some restrictions will be decided based on developments over the coming weeks,” he added.
Previously it was planned to lift restrictions on social gatherings in phase four of lifting COVID-19 restrictions. However, now social gatherings in phase 4 will be limited to 15 people indoors and 30 people outdoors, with the importance to adhering to the wearing of masks, a physical distance of at least 1.5m between people, green status on Ehteraz and regular hand washing.
“Wedding, however, will be allowed during phase 4, but with specific precautionary measures. This includes limiting the number of invitees to 40 people indoors and 80 people outdoor, wearing masks, limiting the number of people to five for each table, green Ehteraz status, and singing or dancing is not allowed. Organisers are also expected to keep a list of all invitees and their contact information for contact tracing purposes,” said Dr. Al Maslamani.
Buses and metro will resume services with a limited capacity of 30 percent in phase 4 of lifting COVID-19 restrictions.
“MoPH has set a number of precautions including testing all staff and drivers. Blocking seats to ensure physical distancing, ensuring everyone wears masks, provide hand sanitisers on trains, buses and at stations, and regular cleaning and disinfection,” said Dr. Al Maslamani.
“This is in addition to the regular temperature checks and checking health status of the passenger on Ehteraz app at entry points,” he added.
Dr. Al Maslamani also urged the public to continue to follow the COVID-19 precautionary measures and advice given by the MoPH.
“The fact that we have moved into phase four of lifting restrictions means that we have managed to control the spread of the virus but does not mean that the virus has disappeared. The threat of it spreading is still there. The only way we can reduce the risk of this happening is by adhering to the precautionary measures, most important of which is wearing a mask, keeping a physical distance of 1.5m from others at all times and washing our hand on regular basis,” he said.
