A senior health official has highlighted three key areas of Qatar's strategy that has allowed the country to have one of the lowest Covid-19 death rates in the world.

These are Qatar's expanded hospital capacity, the extensive and proactive testing strategy, and its ability to protect the most vulnerable members of society.

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, chair of the National Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation, made the observation in an interview with 'Q Life Magazine', which is managed and operated by the Government Communications Office.

He discussed Qatar’s swift response to the pandemic and how the country has maintained one of the lowest Covid-19 mortality rates in the world.

Speaking on the three key areas, Dr al-Khal first cites Qatar's significantly expanded hospital capacity, which included tripling its intensive care capacity.

"The second key area is our extensive, proactive testing strategy, which has enabled us to quickly identify a large number of positive cases and provide them with the medical care they need at an early stage," he explained.

The third area is Qatar's ability to protect the most vulnerable members of society through specialist medical services and additional awareness and educational campaigns.

"There's been no greater time to be working in Qatar's healthcare sector," he stressed.

Qatar's healthcare system quickly adapted to the pandemic and made changes to longstanding practices with ease. "Myself and my colleagues across the healthcare system have been working tirelessly to ensure measures are in place to limit the spread of the virus and provide high-quality care for those people who need it," he said. "But in times of pressure, the true character of people comes through and I am immensely proud of everyone who has risen to the challenge."

Despite the healthcare system's focus on combating Covid-19. Qatar has placed a great importance on maintaining essential day-to-day services.

"Every week across our system, we have provided telemedicine consultations to more than 35,000 patients, delivered more than 400 babies, provided chemotherapy to over 550 cancer patients, responded to more then 5,000 emergency calls to the Ambulance Service, and managed more than 20,000 visits to our urgent care and emergency departments," he explained.

"The skill and dedication of our doctors, nurses and support staff is our most powerful and valuable resource in this battle," he concluded.


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