The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Ambulance Service is working side-by-side with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH Qatar), Hamad International Airport and other partners to ensure appropriate screening and precautionary measures are in place to ensure the coronavirus (COVID-19) does not spread in Qatar, and the one case that was recorded yesterday is the only case, as tweeted by the MoPH.
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Qatar has recorded its first confirmed case of coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on 29 February 2020, said the Minister of Public Health (MoPH) today.
The Ministry said in a statement that the patient who tested positive for the coronavirus (COVID-19) is a 36-year-old Qatari male who returned recently from Iran. He was evacuated out of the country on a government-chartered private plane and landed at a private airport along with other passengers. All the passengers were placed under full quarantine and underwent tests, and this Qatari male who tested positive was, then, admitted to the Communicable Disease Centre and isolated under strict infection control measures. He is in a stable condition.
The statement explained that given the nature of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the extent of the global spread, finding a case in Qatar was expected, stressing that the ministry began examining all persons closely related to the patient and implementing appropriate quarantine measures, adding that there is currently no evidence of the spread of the virus in the country. Efforts are currently focused on examining incoming travelers in all the country's entry points, the statement has stressed.
The MoPH is taking all measures to limit the further spread of the virus and asks the public to take caution and implement the simple protective measures by frequent washing of hands or using hand sanitiser, avoiding sick people, keeping social distancing and coughing or sneezing into the sleeve of a flexed elbow or use a tissue which then should be discarded into a closed bin.
The Ministry also advises all those who have been in any of the countries where the virus has been reported in the last 14 days and suffer from cough and fever to come forward for testing or to call the hotline of the MoPH at 16,000.
The MoPH is working closely with all partners and with the World Health Organisation to ensure the implementation of latest guidelines and the appropriate public health measures and asks the public to regularly check the ministry's website for the latest advisories and information.
The MoPH urges the public to extend their help and cooperation with the health authorities in the implementation of the public heath measures and cautions against listening to unreliable sources of information and rumours.
The Ministry of Public Health provides regular updates on the coronavirus (COVID-19) on its website in multiple languages and via its social media channels. There is a 24/7 coronavirus hotline for information and updates: +974 66740948 or +974 66740951.
More than 2,900 people have died and over 85,000 have been infected with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe since the virus first came to light in Wuhan in China in December of 2019. Mot of the coronavirus (COVID-19) infections have been found in China, but the disease has spread beyond China and daily new cases are being discovered in countries like South Korea, Japan, Italy and Iran becoming the latest hotspots, according to Al Jazeera.
The United Arab Emirates was the first country in the Gulf region to have a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) with 21 up to now, of which five have recovered, while Qatar reported its first case yesterday. Kuwait has 45 coronavirus infection cases, Bahrain has reported 38 cases so far, Oman has six and Iraq has eight cases of people infected with the virus.
Saudi Arabia seems to be the only Gulf country that has not reported any case as of yet, though, as a precautionary measure, it has stopped travel of people with Umrah visas from all countries and visitor visas from some countries.
On the other hand, Iran is the hotspot in this region with 600 reported cases and 43 deaths so far. Most of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases reported in the Gulf region were diagnosed in people who had visited Iran or who came into contact with people who had been there. The only deaths reported so far in the region are in Iran.
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