Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation, told a press conference on Monday that the start of Phase 4 will again open new facilities and offer people more freedom, but it is important to remember that the "further lifting of restrictions does not mean that the virus has disappeared and the threat to our health has gone".
"Covid-19 is still a very real threat and we must not become complacent," he stressed.
Dr al-Khal said the measures put in place have succeeded in lowering the number of new daily cases over the past few months thanks to the combined efforts of the government and members of the public.
"What is very clear is that people who follow the preventive measures — wearing a mask, maintaining physical distancing and regular hand washing — have a very low risk of catching the virus," he said.
"We are seeing that a high proportion of positive cases among Qatari nationals and expatriate professionals are due to a minority of people within these groups who continue to ignore preventive advice — putting themselves and those around them at risk," he continued. "We have seen incidences of large-scale family gatherings and celebrations with more than 100 people.
"These mass gatherings put many people at risk and risk undermining all the efforts that have been done to combat the virus to date."
Dr al-Khal noted that the phased approach to lifting restrictions "has worked very well and while we have seen small clusters of cases as a result of people not adhering to the preventive measures, we have not yet seen signs of a second wave".
"We have opened malls, workplaces, mosques and other public places, and people have been able to visit these locations safely —supported by Ehteraz and the preventive measures — and we have not seen any significant spike in the total number of cases," he said.