Qatar not yet detected with Indian variant, says Dr. Al Khal
- 4 years ago
Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Health Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of Infectious Diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), has said that Qatar has not yet been detected with the Indian variant of the coronavirus.
During a press conference on Qatar TV to address about COVID-19 situation in the country, Dr. Al Khal stated that more than 1.7 million vaccine doses have been administered since the beginning of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign. He called on all the public in the country to take the vaccines in order to facilitate the lifting of restrictions that will proceed in four phases starting May 28.
Dr Al Khal said that, “Qatar is among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of vaccine coverage for the size of its population.”
The plan to gradually lift restrictions will be delivered in four phases, with each phase lasting up to three weeks.
Dr Al Khal continued by saying that, “the date of implementation and the duration of each phase will depend on the pandemic indicators that rely significantly on the degree of compliance of the community members with the current measures, restrictions, and guidance by the government. The first phase of the gradual lifting has been decided to start on May 28 with possibility of bringing it to May 23 if people adhered to the preventive measures.”
Dr. Al Khal has called out to the public to get their vaccination, as it is effective and will ensure their safety.
Dr. Al Khal noted that receiving vaccination ensures safety and said: “It is very encouraging that we are seeing clear evidence that the vaccines are protecting people from developing symptoms of COVID-19 and becoming ill. The next phases of the plan to lift restrictions will include privileges for those who have been vaccinated. They can dine out and will be given priority at sports centres, among others.”
A research study that was conducted in Qatar and published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that for fully vaccinated people — 14 days after receiving the second dose of the vaccination, shows that 97.4 percent effective in ensuring safety from severe, critical, or fatal disease from the UK and South African variants.
Dr. Al Khal stated that “These statistics are very promising and give good cause to be optimistic about a return towards normal life once we have vaccinated around 80-90% of the eligible population in Qatar.”
The restrictions enforced in the region over the past weeks have proven their success in the number of daily infected cases and those admitting in intensive care units.
Dr. Al Khal also said that, “We still need to be cautious as we are not out of the second wave yet, and we are still dealing with two highly contagious and highly virulent strains of the virus that are actively circulating in the community.”
“Our quarantine policy for anyone entering Qatar has been one of the strictest of its kind in the world and proved to be effective in detecting those infected and quickly isolating them. It delays the introduction and spread of new variants into Qatar,” he added.
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