Less than 100 Covid-19 patients currently in hospitals across Qatar

Promising figures show a decrease in the number of Covid-19 patients at hospitals.

Health authorities in Qatar have recorded less than 100 Covid-19 patients at hospitals across the country, according to official figures.

The total number of patients at ICU wards currently stands at 31, while 61 others are currently being treated by doctors for acute hospital care.

Wednesday’s statistics also show one new recorded death, bringing the total toll up to 600 after more than a week of no fatalities. A 43-year old succumbed to the novel coronavirus, the ministry said, though the statement made no mention of whether he had been diagnosed with chronic illness.

Prior to Wednesday, the last recorded death was on 10 July and involved a 76-year-old with a known history of chronic disease.

A total of 128 positive cases were reported on Wednesday, with the number of active cases now standing at 1,560. This  follows  a promising nationwide trend seen in recent months that has highlighted a general dip in daily cases even as restrictions are lifted.

In the last few weeks, authorities have been reporting less than 200 daily cases— a significant decrease since the peak of the second wave in April, which at the time prompted authorities to quickly reimpose restrictions.

The recent drop in numbers can be attributed to the availability of more vaccines as well as the opening of larger vaccination centres, both of which have allowed the country to exponentially ramp up its national inoculation campaign.

The implementation of strict restrictions to curb the virus also played an essential role in flattening the curve, which is expected to further decrease in the upcoming days and weeks.

Last week, Mesaieed Hospital discharged its last coronavirus patients, becoming the fifth Covid-19 facility to shut its doors as normal services resume.

The hospital was among the first of seven facilities to be designated to receive infected patients since March 2020 in an effort to meet the demand for hospital admissions.

The centre hosted 120 acute care beds, which then expanded to provide 610 acute beds and 45 intensive care beds to serve the community.

In the last two months, four other facilities returned to conducting normal services, including Surgical Specialty Center, Ras Laffan Hospital, Al Wakra Hospital and Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital – all of which served as Covid-19 facilities during the peak of the pandemic.

Read also: WHO warns of potential ‘catastrophic’ coronavirus surge in Middle East

The hopeful news means Qatar is set to be among the first countries to achieve herd immunity against Covid-19 in a month’s time, Dr. Mohammed bin Hamad Al Thani, Director of Public Health at the Ministry of Public Health announced earlier this month.

Meanwhile, more than half of the population— aged 16 and above — have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Qatar, with recent statistics from the ministry showing over 1.6 million people are now fully vaccinated.

According to the figures, 66.7% of those 16 and over have received both doses.

Meanwhile, 98.6% of those aged 60 and above received the first dose with 93.5% of this age group now fully vaccinated.

Since the start of the country’s National Vaccination Campaign, 3,587,683 vaccine doses have been administered. The country has been expanding its vaccination campaign in recent months to ensure the community’s safety— administrating over 2,000 doses daily.

Qatar is currently in phase 3 of the lifting of restrictions, with the fourth and final phase expected on 30 July.

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