In a bid to prevent overcrowding in pharmacies and reduce public gathering, health officials have announced the resumption of home delivery services.
The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has confirmed the resumption of medicine home delivery services in coordination with Qatar post. Patients can receive their medicine and communicate with health centers without having to leave their homes through using the centre’s designated WhatsApp number.
This comes as Qatar recorded its highest ever number of daily COVID infections on Monday. Authorities reported 3,878 new infected cases— surpassing all previous figures including those from the first and second wave of the pandemic. Due to this increase, health officials are encouraging patients, particularly those in high-risk categories, to use the home delivery service in order to reduce visits to health centers to relieve some of the pressure on them.
Dr. Manal Al Zaidan, Director of Pharmacy at PHCC said, “the PHCC, within the framework of the preventive and precautionary measures taken by the state to limit the spread of the COVID-19 and the safety of all, continues to provide home delivery service for medicines from health centers for all, especially those with chronic diseases to reduce gatherings during drug dispensing from the pharmacy.”
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Dr. Al Zaidan emphasized that all medicine is available in PHCC pharmacies, refuting some reports that Qatar was witnessing a shortage in certain medications.
To use the home medication delivery service, patients should send a text message writing ‘Hello’ to the WhatsApp number of their designated health centre. Then the pharmacist will contact the patient and send over the medication through Qatar post within two working days for a fee of QAR 30.
The service is available from Sunday to Thursday from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm and from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm.
Efforts against the virus
Amid the spike in COVID cases, health officials have taken several decisions in a bid to control the situation and combat the third wave hitting the country.
A new drive-thru testing centre was opened in Lusail as officials looked for ways to solve the PCR testing crisis that Qatar was experiencing, while the PHCC assured people that it is safe to self-isolate if they experienced mild or moderate symptoms.
The Ministry of Public Health also approved the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 booster shot for children aged 12 to 15 years to increase their immunity and ensure their safety during the peak of the third wave.
While all healthcare workers were forced to cancel their holidays as authorities aimed to ensure that hospitals and clinics remained fully staffed as they became inundated with patients.