(MENAFN- Gulf Times)
Qatar residents should be extra careful over the next three to four weeks as the current wave of COVID-19 is yet to peak, a senior health official has advised.
Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation, was speaking to Qatar TV Wednesday.
'The compliance of people with the preventive and precautionary measures, will further ensure their protection against the new variant Omicron, which spreads and infects quickly,' he said.
Pfizer vaccine
'for children soon'
The Pfizer vaccine for children aged 5-12 would be available soon, hoped Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation.
'So, children will receive further protection and avoid transmitting infection besides easing the return to normal school life,' he told Qatar TV.
Dr al-Khal also advised parents to get their children in the 5-12 age group vaccinated as soon as it is available. 'It is the same vaccine given for adults, but with less concentration,' he added. |
'In particular, they should wear face masks in the proper way whenever and wherever applicable and maintain safe distance from others, in addition to avoiding crowds and travelling to the destinations where the disease is rampant unless necessary.
'Though the number of new cases shot up dramatically over the past two weeks the pinnacle of the curve is still to come, and people should be co-operative to able to avoid any hike in new cases. The new variant has mild to average symptoms and rarely need any medical care or attention, especially for the healthy people, fully vaccinated and those free from chronic disease or compromised immunity.
'Since mid-October last year the numbers started to increase slightly, yet because of the high vaccination rate in Qatar, which reached above 85%, the situation in Qatar is much better than other places. This pandemic is the severest the world has faced over the past 100 years, and the situation in Qatar reflects the global situation as it has never been experienced on such a scale before.
'The vulnerable people such as the elderly and those with chronic disease must be given extra care as contracting the Covid-19 infection could involve high risks for some of them. Currently, there are 38 cases in the ICU and none of them got the booster or third dose, while some passed more than six months after the second dose and others never took any dose of the vaccine.
Call to adhere to
preventive steps
Lt Col Rashid Sarai al-Kaabi, from the Ehetraz Unit, urged Qatar residents to co-operate with the authorities in controlling the Covid-19 epidemic by abiding by the preventive and precautionary measures.
'The departments and entities concerned at the Ministry of Interior will enforce the related decisions through its patrols and those who fail to abide by the stipulations will be penalised,' he told Qatar TV Wednesday.
|
'The booster dose is easily accessible through various means, including the PHCC centres. In addition, the vaccination center at Umm Garn will have a large capacity,' Dr al-Khal said referring to the Qatar Vaccination Center – for Business and Industry Sector, set to open on January 9 and will administer Covid-19 vaccines to key business and industry workers.
Regarding the rush for PCR tests, Dr al-Khal said Ministry of Public Health has introduced several changes to make the process easy for people such as approving Rapid Antigen Tests, for certain categories. The opening of a drive-through centre at Lusail with 10 tracks will cater to large numbers of people for PCR tests.
For those who contracted the new variant of he Covid-19, the senior health official advised them to self-quarantine for 10 days, drink lots of fluids, eat well, exercise and take some medication to reduce the temperature, as the symptoms will go away without any medical intervention unless the person has weak immunity for several reasons.
MENAFN05012022000067011011ID1103495300
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.