Doha: More than 98% of the teachers and workers in the educational sector is free from Covid-19 infection a senior official said today.

The Ministry of Public Health, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, discussed the latest developments related to the Coronavirus and returning to schools during a press conference held today. 

Dr. Abdullatif Al Khal, Chair of the National Strategic Group on COVID-19 and Head of the Infectious Diseases Division at Hamad Medical Corporation, while speaking at the press conference, highlighted the significant decrease in the number of Coronavirus infections since the beginning of June. He also stated that most of the infections during the past period resulted from infection within the same family, which often came from one of its members. 

Regarding the opening of schools, Dr. Al Khal said that the Ministry of Health carried out pre-emptive Coronavirus tests for all school personnel and more than 98.5% were free from infection."

Furthermore, he also stated that the percentage of Covid-19 tests in Qatar ranges between 2-4 people per day per thousand people and this is one of the highest rates in the world compared to the population.

Speaking in the press conference, Dr. Al Khal also stated: "We will one day return to our normal life with the availability of the Corona vaccine, and Qatar will work to provide vaccinations for community members when it is available."

Dr. Al Khal also reminds citizens and residents that COVID-19 is still a very real threat and we must not become complacent. He also called on citizens and residents to adhere to the preventive measures to limit the risk of catching the virus, such as wearing a mask, maintaining physical distancing, and regular hand washing.

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SUMMARY OF KEY MESSAGES

- The measures put in place have succeeded in lowering the number of new daily cases over the past few months thanks to the combined efforts of the government and members of the public.

- What is very clear is that people who follow the preventive measures-wearing a mask, maintaining physical distancing and regular hand washing-have a very low risk of catching the virus.

- We are seeing that a high proportion of positive cases among Qatari nationals and expat professionals are due to a minority of people within these groups who continue to ignore preventive advice-putting themselves and those around them at risk

- We have seen incidences of large scale family gatherings and celebrations with more than 100 people.

- These mass gatherings put many people at risk and risk undermining all the efforts that have been done to combat the virus to date

- The phased approach to lifting restrictions has worked very well and while we have seen small clusters of cases as a result of people not adhering to the preventive measures, we have not yet seen signs of a second wave.

- We have opened malls, workplaces, mosques and other public places, and people have been able to visit these locations safely- supported by Ehteraz and the preventive measures-and we have not seen any significant spike in the total number of cases.

- The start of Phase 4 will again open new facilities and offer people more freedom, but it is important to remember that the further lifting of restrictions does not mean that the virus has disappeared and the threat to our health has gone.

- COVID-19 is still a very real threat and we must not become complacent. 

- The blended approach enabling children to return to school has been carefully planned with all the relevant authorities and all measures are being put in place by schools to ensure the safety of children and reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection.

- As we know, while children are not Immune from catching COVID-19, they are extremely unlikely to experience severe symptoms of the virus and their safety is always our first priority.

- With a maximum of 30% of children in school each day, in addition to supporting preventive measures, we are confident that everything is in place to enable children to safely return to schools.

SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR