Closed industrial area streets in Doha partially opened from Wednesday

Doha, 22 April (2020) - Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater has said that the gradual opening of the closed part of Industrial Area begins from Wednesday, starting from street No 1 and 2 and Al Wakalat street.

The work will continue to open the remaining part of the area as per the medical information in the interests of the people, Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater said during The regular press conference this evening.

Around 6,500 workers were shifted in preparation to partially open the closed part. They were shifted to precautionary quarantine facilities to screen for early detection despite no symptoms of the infection for their and others safety in the area.

Ninety per cent of Coronavirus infections in Qatar are light and only 1% are serious cases, the spokesperson said.

Lolwah Al-Khater also mentioned that Qatar has the lowest death rate in the Arab world and one of the lowest in the world compared to the number of infected.

The first hike in COVID-19 cases occurred in March and was linked to the return of Qataris from abroad. Then we witnessed relative stability and then another rise related to the discovery of a group of cases from the Industrial area and this led to closure of the area.

Family visits were among the most important reasons for the spread of the Coronavirus among Qataris in particular.

She urged everyone to stay safe and stay home.

"It is necessary to continue applying preventive measures, the most important of which is not leaving the house except for necessities, wearing masks, washing and sanitizing hands and practicing adequate social distance, especially as we are entering the blessed month of Ramadan.

Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater stressed that this pandemic may remind us that God's ability is above all ability and that we must from now on pay attention to what adds to our selves, our societies and our countries and seize the coincidence of the month of Ramadan with this pandemic to rearrange our priorities and focus on what is beneficial and constructive

We call upon all and urge to avoid family gatherings during Ramadan month," HE the spokesperson said.

HE official Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater gave a presentation on coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis management in the State of Qatar, reviewing some indicators and numbers about recoveries and deaths, reassuring all about the safety of the approach followed in the face of the virus.

She explained that the recent increase in the number of virus infections is linked to an increase in the number of tests, and the adoption of a proactive screening approach with a view to discovering transitional strings ... stressing that this is a healthy indicator in the first place.

She noted that the number of cases among Qataris is relatively stable after the rise in two consecutive days late last March .. adding that many of the discovered cases were mainly related to contacting within the same family and during family visits .. calling for avoiding gatherings, contacting and family visits during this period, especially with the advent of the month of Ramadan.

Her Excellency confirmed that the indications indicate that the State of Qatar is successfully managing the crisis "which is reflected in all indicators related to the virus."

She explained that the percentage of detected infections in quarantine currently stands at 74 percent, while 26 percent are community-based cases, which means the health system has succeeded in containing the virus and limiting its spread thanks to the pre-emptive plans of the Ministry of Public Health.

As for cases severity , she pointed out that the numbers did not witness a major change, as 90 percent of cases were light and only 1 percent are classified as dangerous, while the recovery rate so far is 9 percent.

She added that the number of deaths reached only 9 cases among the total cases discovered, "a rate that is among the lowest in the world and the lowest at the level of countries in the region."

She said that the number of cases in intensive care reached 72 cases, while the number of cases that left intensive care reached 52 cases.

She also indicated that the percentage of cases among males in general is 89% and 11% among females, while the percentage among Qatari males was 66.47% and among Qatari women 33.53%, and among expatriate males is 89.9% and the rest is among females.

The figures presented by HE Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater indicate that 36 percent of cases were in the age group between 25 and 34 years, 29 percent of them were in the age group (35 and 44 years), 14 percent in the category between (45 to 54 years), and 11 percentage in the category (15 to 24 years), 5 percent in the category between 55 and 64 years, and

2 percent only over the age of 64 years, the same percentage for the category between (5 and 14 years), and only 1 percent between the ages of 0 and 4 years.

Regarding recovery cases, she said that the ratio among males reached 80 percent and 20 percent for females, "given that the percentage of cases in males is the highest."

HE Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater stressed the importance of reading the numbers correctly and using a scientific method to understand and receive the numbers, so that the results are correct .. warning that unscientific interaction with the numbers inevitably leads to inaccurate results that might cause concern to society.

She said, "The increase in the number of cases is a natural indicator of the ability of the health system to manage the crisis and contain cases as quickly as possible." She added, "One of the important indicators is the ability of the health system to deal with cases, as is the case in Qatar, while experiences in many developed countries showed that they could not cope with the cases and contain the virus. "

She emphasized that the health system in the State of Qatar is able to absorb the cases "and there is an abundance and scope to deal with the increase, which is an important indicator, and does not cause any concern at all" ... noting that " concerns rise when the health system could not respond to the needs of patients regardless of the type of disease."

She stressed that the most important thing in the face of the coronavirus (Covid-19) is the people commitment of people to application of measures, warning that complacency may prolong the crisis.

She reiterated that the increase in the number of cases in recent times is an indication of the efficiency of search.. She said that the Ministry of Public Health does not conduct tests randomly, but through a dedicated team for search, which is the effective factor in curbing the virus spread.

She added, "Some countries in the world do not conduct proactive checks , but rather discover cases when patients go to hospitals after symptoms appear." This means that there are cases that have not been discovered yet. ", Confirming that conducting accurate proactive checks is important to discover cases early and not leave it until symptoms appear to patients.

She said that the State of Qatar is among the highest countries in the number of checks in relation to the population reaching about 20000 and 200 per million people, while it is in leading countries such as Singapore reaching 16,000 per million and in Hong Kong it reaches 17,000 and 500 per million of the population.

HE Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohammed Al Khater assured that the frequency of the checks continues, calling for avoiding inaccurate calculations and misreading the indicators and numbers of the checks .. She said, "There is a scientific approach for conducting checks in the State of Qatar, which is similar to what is going on in the leading countries in this regard."