Manama: Mahmood Rafique, Editor: The Kingdom of Bahrain on Saturday has announced 620 new COVID-19 cases and among them 519 new cases were contacts of active cases.
Out of 10531 COVID-19 tests carried out on 19 September 2020, 620 new cases have been detected among 98 expatriate workers, 519 new cases are contacts of active cases, and 3 are travel related. There were 599 recoveries from the COVID-19, taking the total number of recoveries to 57299, the Ministry of Health says on its website.
The National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in its briefing highlighted that the number of active COVID-19 cases has increased over the past two weeks, surpassing 750 cases on some of the previous days, due to non-compliance of health and precautionary guidelines during the Ashura holidays.
The Taskforce underscored the importance of social responsibility to safeguard individuals, families and the community, by vigilantly adhering to all health guidelines aimed at mitigating the spread of the virus, reducing infection rates and flattening the curve. The Taskforce noted that the virus does not discriminate between race, religion, or faith and therefore unified efforts are required to ensure a commitment to following all precautionary measures aimed at preserving the health of the community.
The Taskforce stressed the importance of safeguarding the community as a national duty, as reflected in the national efforts of frontline workers who tirelessly work around the clock to support monitoring and mitigation efforts. The Taskforce noted that following all precautionary guidelines and social distancing measures are important to mitigating the spread of the virus, and have been introduced based on scientific facts, and international statistics and data on the virus.
The Taskforce added that official statistics have revealed a spike in active COVID-19 cases due to an increase in social and religious gatherings during the Ashura holidays, as a result of non-compliance to precautionary health measures that have been put in place in partnership with the Jaffaria Waqf Directorate and the heads of the Ma’atams in Bahrain.