MoPH is taking all necessary measures to contain spread of COVID-19, officials confirm

While Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) announced a sudden jump in the number of confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country, officials from the authority have assured the public that all necessary measures are being implemented to contain the spread of the infection among the population.

It is highly significant for the public to know that the affected individuals (new cases) were detected while in quarantine.

The new cases are of those who had contact with the previous three cases of expatriates announced on Sunday. All of these belonged to one residential complex, the Ministry officials specified at a press conference yesterday.

The discovery of these cases was made possible due to the Ministry’s quick action to ensure the safety of the wider community.

Qatar’s health authorities have been on high alert while implementing the highest of monitoring, detection and management procedures to fight the disease that is now officially considered a ‘pandemic’ by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Earlier, MoPH had announced that it had subjected 300 people to quarantine procedures when the three cases among expatriates were reported on Sunday.

The Ministry said that the number of cases is likely to increase among those who had contact with the previously announced expatriate patients, Gulf Times reported.

“We have conducted about 6,000 tests so far and this is one of the highest number of tests globally and second only to South Korea,” the Director of Public Health Department at MoPH, Sheikh Dr Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani highlighted.

He also mentioned that about 800 people have been quarantined under the Ministry’s efforts to contain the virus spread.

“This is an example of how our healthcare system has responded to the emergency situation,” Sheikh Mohamed noted.

Director, Department of Health Protection and Prevention of Transitional Diseases at MoPH, Dr Hamad Eid al-Rumaihi confirmed that most of the new cases “are in very good health and there are no critical cases.”

“It was good on our teams to detect the cases very early and we took them to hospital and isolated them to prevent further spread of the disease,” he added.

The Ministry continues to take the required action through its efforts.

Dr Abdullatif al-Khal, co-chair of the National Pandemic Committee and the Head of Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation said, “We haven’t stopped here. The ministry is continuing its efforts through active surveillance."

"We have been able to identify all these cases due to our vigilance and it is good that we were able to identify these cases very early. We have conducted hundreds of and hundreds of tests," he mentioned.

Furthermore, the officials recommended the following at the press conference:

- Adhere to the precautionary measures recommended by the Ministry

- Maintain proper hygiene to prevent the risk of infection

- Avoid large social gatherings

- Avoid unnecessary travel 

- If you have recently traveled to countries most affected by COVID-19 and develop concerning symptoms, visit the doctor immediately 

- Avoid physical contacts such as through handshakes 

- Avoid touching eyes, nose after touching surfaces

- Be assured that health authorities in Qatar are very capable of providing the best care to prevent the disease from spreading

Here's everything you need to know about the virus, including ways to protect yourself.