Progression to Phase 4 relies on continued improvements in the number of new daily cases; says Dr. Al Khal

Aug 13, 2020

During the special COVID-19 interview on August 13, 2020, Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) said most of the new infections recorded in Qatar are among members of the same family, which extends to several homes, and it is due to social gatherings or through parties and events attended by a large number of people in violation of the directives.

The epidemic has re-spread in the form of new waves in many countries that have eased the ban on activities.

New cases increased after a period of decline due to the Eid al-Adha holidays and failure to adhere to preventive measures during family visits and social gatherings.

COVID-19 updates

- The measures put in place have succeeded in lowering the number of new daily cases over the past two months.

- At the peak of the virus in Qatar, we saw more than 2,000 new confirmed cases a day, yet for the past few weeks the number has constantly remained under 500.

- This is a considerable achievement but the evidence from countries around the world shows that it is very difficult to completely eradicate the virus - we expect a low, but consistent, number of new cases to be identified each day for many months.

- The world will be living with COVID-19 for some time to come.

- Schoolchildren should wear masks inside classrooms.

- Although we are lifting restrictions across the country and many aspects of our daily lives are returning to some sort of normal, we must not become complacent.

- A second wave of COVID-19 is a very real threat - as several other countries around the world are now experiencing.

- We are mid-way through Phase 3 of the lifting of restrictions, but progression to Phase 4 relies on continued improvements in the number of new daily cases and unless we adhere to all preventive measures there is a real risk of returning to earlier phases.

- Despite the total number of new cases declining considerably in recent weeks and months, there has been a worrying trend of increasing cases within the Qatari national and expat professional population groups.

- This is due to a minority of people within these population groups who continue to ignore preventive advice - putting themselves and those around them at risk.

- We have seen repeated examples during both Eid holidays and throughout Ramadan of the virus spreading within families due to one or two individuals not adhering to social and physical distancing guidelines.

- This is of particular concern as it is the elderly and those with chronic diseases who are most at risk of serious complications from COVID-19, and the Qatari and expat professional population makes up a large proportion of these vulnerable people.