Doha: We expect to be living with COVID-19 to some degree for some time to come. Only when a reliable vaccine becomes available can we confidently believe the threat of COVID-19 is passed, Dr. Hamad Al Rumaihi, Director of the Health Protection and Communicable Diseases Control Department at MoPH and co-chair of the National Pandemic Preparation Committee said while addressing a press conference this evening.
Some key messages:
- As we have highlighted, we expect to be living with COVID-19 to some degree for some time to come.
- Only when a reliable vaccine becomes available can we confidently believe the threat of COVID-19 is passed.
- If people adhere to preventive measures we can expect to keep the virus under control but total eradication is unlikely in the near future - therefore we must learn to live with the virus and find ways to protect our most at risk groups.
- Creating a Safe Zone in the house for elderly relatives is an important action you can do:
* One designated area of the house for these at risk people
* Anyone who enters this zone must wash their hands, wear a mask and maintain physical distancing
* Thoroughly sanitize the Safe Zone and keep as clean as possible .
* Keep the number of people who visit and interact with elderly relatives and those with chronic conditions to a minimum
* This small group of people should ensure they follow preventive advice at all times to minimize their risk of contracting the virus and passing it onto the vulnerable family member
* At the first sign of any symptoms these people should isolate themselves and get a test
- We have given up a lot of our normal daily lives throughout our fight against COVID-19 and our sacrifice has been rewarded with the decline of the virus - but the battle is not yet won and we must continue to do everything that we can until COVID-19 is no longer a threat to our community.
