Today, the National Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19) held a press conference at the Crown Prince Centre for Training and Medical Research in the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital to highlight measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dr. Tasnim Atatrah, WHO Representative and Head of Office in Bahrain, attended the press conference which marked their visit to open an official WHO office in the Kingdom of Bahrain

At the beginning of the conference, HE Faeqa Al Saleh, the Minister of Health, commended HM the King's directives and the Kingdom's national efforts to safeguard Bahrain's citizens and residents' health which has been led by HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

HE Al Saleh noted that the opening of the WHO office in Bahrain is an achievement that the Kingdom can be proud of, especially given the challenging circumstances caused by the pandemic.

HE Al Saleh then presented the Kingdom's comprehensive health strategies, starting from HM the King's directives to the national mitigation efforts led by HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, which was put in place before the announcement of Bahrain's case zero, in February 2020.

HE Al Saleh noted the precautionary measures and early medical response that have been adopted in line with the recommendations presented by the WHO. The preparations included forming a National Medical Taskforce to develop the necessary health protocols and establishing a 24-hour war room that tracks operations and developments to inform critical decision-making.

HE Al Saleh highlighted that an integrated media strategy was developed prior to the detection of the first positive case in Bahrain. This strategy serves as a crisis guide that can be used to manage challenges presented by the COVID-19 in a proactive and timely manner. In addition, informed and transparent awareness campaigns were launched in multiple languages.

HE Al Saleh added that Bahrain has maintained a high level of testing since the early stages of the pandemic with its "Test, Trace, and Treat" strategy, providing up to 20,000 PCR tests per day to ensure early detection and treatment of cases free of charge. 

On treatment protocols, HE Al Saleh highlighted the Kingdom's approach of approving the appropriate medicines to treat infections, the approval of 6 vaccinations by NHRA for all, including those at the age of 12-17 years, pregnant and nursing women, the elderly and high-risk groups.

HE Al Saleh further shed light on the government's swift response to introduce a financial stimulus package that exceeded BHD 4.5 billion, equivalent to a third of Bahrain's gross domestic product. This stimulus package supports the sectors worst affected by the pandemic. It also protects jobs by assisting private sector companies with the payment of wages.

Al Saleh emphasised the Kingdom's commitment to the digital transformation of all government services in an effort to enhance its efficiency and quality.

HE Al Saleh concluded by reviewing Bahrain's commitment to combatting COVID-19 and stressed the Kingdom's cross-border commitment to suppress the virus.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the WHO, expressed his appreciation to HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and the people of Bahrain, for their warm welcome and hospitality. 

Dr. Ghebreyesus noted that the opening of the WHO's new Country Office in Bahrain - their 152nd office in the world - will deliver strategic, technical, policy, and service delivery support to aid global public health and well-being.

Following his visit to several treatment, vaccination, and isolation centres, Dr. Ghebreyesus expressed his admiration of Bahrain's comprehensive COVID-19. He added that the Kingdom leads in its integrated, innovative, patient-centred care. Dr. Ghebreyesus was especially impressed by the number of women in leadership roles at the test, trace, and treat facilities.

Dr. Ghebreyesus was pleased that COVID-19 cases and deaths are now near the lowest levels that the Kingdom has seen since the pandemic began.

Dr. Ghebreyesus concluded by reiterating the WHO's commitment to work with the Kingdom of Bahrain to end the COVID-19 pandemic.

With regards to epidemiological statistics, Dr. Waleed Khalifa Al Manea, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health and Member of the National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19), highlighted that the Kingdom of Bahrain has completed the vaccination of one million people with various approved vaccinations, which equates to 70% of the total population, and 89% of those eligible for vaccination. Meanwhile the percentage of those registered to take the vaccination reached 99% of the eligible population. Bahrain has stocks of more than 4.5 million vaccination doses to cover this year's requirements and next year. In addition, plans are in place to increase the daily vaccination rate to 31,000 doses administered per day.

Dr. Al Manea noted that vaccination zones have been created for the elderly who will not need to pre-register. Additionally, the protocol for taking the booster dose has been updated; the elderly and high-risk groups will now receive a booster dose one month after their initial vaccination.

As for the vaccination of children aged 12-17 years, Dr. Al Manea indicated that the percentage reached 44% of those who received two doses, and 63% of those who have received the first dose.

On drive-through laboratory testing, Dr. Al Manea highlighted that two additional vehicle testing centers have been launched, bringing the total to 3 centres across Bahrain. Dr. Al Manea added that the number of laboratory tests conducted by the Kingdom of Bahrain has exceeded 5 million. This is three and a half times the population of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and it is an affirmation of the Kingdom's commitment to early tracing and treatment protocols.

Dr. Al Manea commended Team Bahrain's diligent and relentless efforts in safeguarding the health of Bahrain's citizens and residents, adding that during late May, daily COVID-19 cases exceeded 3000, but less than 100 cases per day during July. In this regard, Dr. Al Manea noted that community awareness and vaccinations have also played a role in flattening the curve and allowing for the Green Alert Level to be adopted.

Turning to the COVID-19 Alert Level Traffic Light System, Dr. Al Manea explained that the system consists of four alert levels. The average COVID-19 positivity rates to total examinations are monitored to determine which should be active at any given time.

With regards to other communication tools, Dr. Al Manea emphasised that the Kingdom's hotline "444", has responded to more than 5 million calls since February 2020. Dr. Al Manea added that the Kingdom of Bahrain was one of the first countries to launch a COVID-19 app,"BeAware", to follow up on active cases and close-contacts. The app also allows users to book vaccination appointments and examinations and shows a coloured shield icon to depict the user's vaccination status.

Dr. Al Manea concluded by thanking all those who contributed to protecting public health. Dr. Al Manea added that without cooperation and solidarity, Bahrain would not have been able to achieve what it has.

For her part, Dr. Tasnim Atatrah, WHO Representative and Head of Office in Bahrain, congratulated the Kingdom of Bahrain on its COVID-19 mitigation achievements.

Dr. Atatrah highlighted that the Kingdom of Bahrain was one of the first countries to support international efforts to address COVID-19, and that the effective strategy it adopted led to its success in addressing the pandemic. Dr. Atatrah noted that the WHO has been closely following member states' response to COVID-19. Dr. Atatreh also commended the efforts that Bahrain has made to ensure basic medical care has not suffered due to the pandemic.

Dr. Atatrah extended appreciation for Bahrain's tireless efforts towards achieving universal health coverage, as the World Health Organization has declared the Bahraini capital, Manama, "a healthy city for 2021." Manama is the first capital in the Middle East to receive such an honour.

Dr. Atatrah concluded by indicating that the WHO is proud to further strengthen its partnership with the Kingdom of Bahrain by establishing its new office in the Kingdom and that the office has been established in line with Bahrain's commitment to public health.