The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced the registration of 1,554 confirmed new cases of Covid-19 and 688 new recoveries and one death in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of recovered cases in Qatar to 7,288.

During the last 24 hours, 24 new cases have been admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) due to complications resulting from the infection, bringing the total number of people currently in ICUs to 171.

The MoPH reported that the new death was of an 81-year-old resident receiving the necessary medical care in intensive care. The Ministry offered sincere condolences and great sympathy to the family of the deceased.





In a statement, the MoPH stated that the new cases are expatriate workers infected as a result of contact with individuals previously infected, in addition to recording new cases of infection among groups of workers in different regions. The new cases have been identified after conducting investigations by the research and investigation teams of the MoPH that contributed to the early detection of cases.

The cases of infection have also increased among citizens and residents as a result of contact with infected family members who had been infected in the workplace or through visits and family gatherings.

The new confirmed cases of infection have been introduced to complete isolation in the various medical facilities in the country, where they receive the necessary healthcare according to the health status of each case.

In this context, the MoPH affirmed that the high number of infections among citizens and residents is due to the lack of compliance by some with precautionary measures, the most important of which is social and physical distancing, staying at home and refraining from social visits.

The MoPH stated that Qatar has now entered the peak phase of the virus outbreak, which is seeing a rise in the number of infections recorded daily, and therefore it is necessary to adhere to, more than ever before, the preventive measures and social measures recommended.

The Ministry also stressed the importance for the elderly or those suffering from chronic diseases and their family members to follow strict measures to reduce the chances of infection, including refraining from social visits during the rest of Ramadan as well during Eid al-Fitr.

The reasons for the high number of cases are also due to the Ministry's redoubling of its efforts in tracking the transitional chains of the virus and expanding the search for infected people through intensive and proactive investigations of large numbers of contacts with people who have been confirmed with the virus recently.

The MoPH noted that the number of daily examinations it conducts on people depends primarily on the number of contacts with individuals confirmed to be infected with the virus, besides it performs random checks in different places of the country as a proactive measure. This is in addition to the tests that are performed on patients in health centres and emergency departments. The number of examinations performed daily is not related to the number of cases discovered in terms of increase or decrease.

The MoPH stressed that because the Covid-19 outbreak is at the peak stage in Qatar, it is important not to leave the house except when absolutely essential. It also stressed the importance of adhering to all measures to protect against virus infection, including maintaining social distancing both in the workplace and public places, as well as wearing a medical mask and avoiding social visits to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.

According to a tweet from the MoPH, with a total of 5,045 people tested for Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, as many as 175,482 have been tested so far in Qatar. The total number of infected people in Qatar since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak is 38,651.

The total number of current active cases is 31,346. The total number of people currently under acute hospital care is 1,555, including 323 acute hospital admissions in the last 24 hours. The total number of Covid-19 deaths so far in Qatar is 17.

The MoPH urged anyone who has symptoms of Covid-19 to either quickly contact the 16000 helpline or go directly to one of the designated health centres for testing for the virus. This is important as the earlier the disease is detected the easier it will be to receive the right treatment and recover from it.

The four main testing centres are Muaither Health Centre; Rawdat Al Khalil Health Centre; Umm Salal Health Centre; and Al Gharafa Health Centre.

The MoPH also recommended visiting its website regularly to view the latest information and instructions related to Covid-19.