The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) has said there has been an 85% increase in the number of people admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in January as compared to December 2020, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reports.
Hence, it is "more important than ever that people adhere to the preventive measures", the ministry said in a post on social media Sunday.
In a related matter, a senior MoPH has also stressed the need for people to follow quarantine rules as non-compliance in this regard is a major factor behind the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in the country.
Speaking to Qatar TV, Dr Soha al-Bayat, head of vaccination at the MoPH, urged the public to follow the quarantine rules. “When someone is infected, the symptoms usually appear after a few days. The virus concentration increases in the body, making the person a potential infection carrier. When people under quarantine leave home or quarantine facilities, it results in damage to the society," she explained.
Dr Muna al-Maslamani, medical director of the Communicable Diseases Center at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), noted that a mask reduces the possibility of infection by 90% if everyone is committed to wearing it.
She added that the application of other measures, in addition to wearing a mask, provides proper protection to people against Covid-19 infection.
Urging people to act now to avoid a second wave of Covid-19, the ministry has reminded people to “always wear a mask when you go outside your home, maintain at least 1.5m distance from others, avoid crowded places and limit times in enclosed spaces, and wash your hands regularly”.
Meanwhile, HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohamed bin Abdul Wahed Ali al-Hammadi told local Arabic daily Arrayah that the attendance rate in schools might be reduced from the present levels if the number of Covid-19 cases continued to rise in the country.
Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of the Infectious Diseases Division at HMC, warned in a recent press conference that Qatar had started to witness in the past few days an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, a rise in the number of hospitalisations due to severe infection with the virus, as well as an increase in the number of cases requiring admission to intensive care, QNA reported.
Dr al-Khal attributed this increase to factors such as a large percentage of community members not wearing masks, visits and not taking precautions at gatherings, weddings and other events, which led to the occurrence of many infections. A doubling in the number of daily Covid-19 infections was noticed while comparing case numbers four weeks ago to the past few days, he said, noting that this was a cause for concern and might indicate signs of a new wave of the pandemic in Qatar.
In a video posted on the ministry's social media channels Sunday, Bejoy Chacko, acting director of Nursing at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), said: "Over the last month, there is an increase in the number of newly diagnosed Covid patients. Data show that there is a significant increase, approximately 85%, in the hospitalisation of these patients, including ICU admissions. This is really alarming. If this trend continued, we will have to go back to the early phases of restrictions. For this reason, it is very important that we adhere to the preventive measures to cut out the second wave before it gains momentum.
"As a healthcare worker, I request everyone to stick to the preventive measures, wash your hands, avoid crowding, wear your masks and let's fight against Covid."
The crackdown on violations of precautionary measures continued as the authorities concerned referred 242 people to the Public Prosecution for not wearing masks in places where they were mandatory, the Ministry of Interior said in a tweet Sunday.
On its part, the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs has urged people to strictly comply with the Covid-19 precautionary and preventive measures while going to mosques. In a post on Twitter Sunday, the ministry reminded the public that their "co-operation and adherence to precautionary measures is the best way to prevent the spread of the virus".
The organisers of Al Khor Carnival Sunday said due to the large area of the carnival, the sterilisation process would continue and the event's closure would be extended until further notice for the sake of everyone's safety.
On Saturday, the organisers had said due to the high demand and for the safety of all, the carnival management had decided to sterilise the site - at Al Bayt Stadium Park - and would reopen it to the public on Sunday.
Hence, it is "more important than ever that people adhere to the preventive measures", the ministry said in a post on social media Sunday.
In a related matter, a senior MoPH has also stressed the need for people to follow quarantine rules as non-compliance in this regard is a major factor behind the recent rise in Covid-19 cases in the country.
Speaking to Qatar TV, Dr Soha al-Bayat, head of vaccination at the MoPH, urged the public to follow the quarantine rules. “When someone is infected, the symptoms usually appear after a few days. The virus concentration increases in the body, making the person a potential infection carrier. When people under quarantine leave home or quarantine facilities, it results in damage to the society," she explained.
Dr Muna al-Maslamani, medical director of the Communicable Diseases Center at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), noted that a mask reduces the possibility of infection by 90% if everyone is committed to wearing it.
She added that the application of other measures, in addition to wearing a mask, provides proper protection to people against Covid-19 infection.
Urging people to act now to avoid a second wave of Covid-19, the ministry has reminded people to “always wear a mask when you go outside your home, maintain at least 1.5m distance from others, avoid crowded places and limit times in enclosed spaces, and wash your hands regularly”.
Meanwhile, HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohamed bin Abdul Wahed Ali al-Hammadi told local Arabic daily Arrayah that the attendance rate in schools might be reduced from the present levels if the number of Covid-19 cases continued to rise in the country.
Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of the Infectious Diseases Division at HMC, warned in a recent press conference that Qatar had started to witness in the past few days an increase in the number of coronavirus cases, a rise in the number of hospitalisations due to severe infection with the virus, as well as an increase in the number of cases requiring admission to intensive care, QNA reported.
Dr al-Khal attributed this increase to factors such as a large percentage of community members not wearing masks, visits and not taking precautions at gatherings, weddings and other events, which led to the occurrence of many infections. A doubling in the number of daily Covid-19 infections was noticed while comparing case numbers four weeks ago to the past few days, he said, noting that this was a cause for concern and might indicate signs of a new wave of the pandemic in Qatar.
In a video posted on the ministry's social media channels Sunday, Bejoy Chacko, acting director of Nursing at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), said: "Over the last month, there is an increase in the number of newly diagnosed Covid patients. Data show that there is a significant increase, approximately 85%, in the hospitalisation of these patients, including ICU admissions. This is really alarming. If this trend continued, we will have to go back to the early phases of restrictions. For this reason, it is very important that we adhere to the preventive measures to cut out the second wave before it gains momentum.
"As a healthcare worker, I request everyone to stick to the preventive measures, wash your hands, avoid crowding, wear your masks and let's fight against Covid."
The crackdown on violations of precautionary measures continued as the authorities concerned referred 242 people to the Public Prosecution for not wearing masks in places where they were mandatory, the Ministry of Interior said in a tweet Sunday.
On its part, the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs has urged people to strictly comply with the Covid-19 precautionary and preventive measures while going to mosques. In a post on Twitter Sunday, the ministry reminded the public that their "co-operation and adherence to precautionary measures is the best way to prevent the spread of the virus".
The organisers of Al Khor Carnival Sunday said due to the large area of the carnival, the sterilisation process would continue and the event's closure would be extended until further notice for the sake of everyone's safety.
On Saturday, the organisers had said due to the high demand and for the safety of all, the carnival management had decided to sterilise the site - at Al Bayt Stadium Park - and would reopen it to the public on Sunday.