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New Covid strain highly contagious, warns Bahrain

Manama - Residents urged to follow all Covid safety precautions.

Published: Wed 17 Feb 2021, 7:28 PM

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(AFP file photo)

(AFP file photo)

A top Bahrain official has warned of a "highly contagious variant of Covid-19".

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Undersecretary at the Ministry of Health and Member of the National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus Covid-19, Dr Waleed Khalifa Al Manea, highlighted the importance of vigilantly following all precautionary measures.

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Bahrain News Agency quoted Dr Al Manea as saying that "despite relentless contact tracing efforts, there has been a rise in active cases".

He noted that the increased rate of infections, which reached 896 cases on February 12, is a "striking escalation" from the 114 cases recorded on November 22, 2020.

He explained that the spread of the virus is due to "general complacency and large family gatherings". These have led to not only an increase in cases, but also deaths and patients in intensive care.

Four Covid vaccines are available in Bahrain: Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech, Astrazeneca-Covishield and Sputnik V.



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