The Ministry of Health today stressed the importance for all to contact the health authorities as early as possible if experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms, adding that the early detection of active cases provides a quicker isolation, treatment and recovery response, as well as reducing the amount of cases flagged by contact tracing efforts.

On this note, the Ministry highlighted that the four recent deaths within the past 24 hours were due to complications from COVID-19 and also partly attributed to a delay in contacting the health authorities when the individuals were experiencing symptoms.

The Ministry expressed its heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased individuals, and emphasised the importance for all to contact the hotline no. 444 as soon as one experiences COVID-19 related symptoms, which include difficulty breathing, high fever, and coughing. The Ministry further emphasised the importance of following the health guidelines provided and added that it has expanded its daily COVID-19 testing capacity to ensure efficiency when isolating and treating cases. The Ministry noted that it will continue to ensure that treatment and care is provided to all citizens and residents in the Kingdom.

The Ministry concluded by underscoring the importance of following all health and social distancing guidelines provided by the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), including wearing masks when out in public and washing hands with soap regularly, using an alcohol-based sanitizer, regularly disinfecting surfaces, covering the mouth when coughing, disposing of used tissues correctly, and avoiding individuals who have a fever or are coughing.