Author: News Desk

In line with the directives of the Government Executive Committee, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to encourage work from home for public institutions whenever possible, Civil Service Bureau (CSB) President, Ahmed bin Zayed Al-Zayed, announced allowing ministries, entities, and government departments to increase the rate of distance work to 70% as a maximum. The CSB instruction will be implemented starting from Sunday, April 5 and continue until further notice. It will be applied according to the work requirements, provided that the services delivered…

The General Directorate of Traffic announced that the services that required personal attendance would be processed after booking appointments through the Skiplino smartphone application to avoid overcrowding at the service providing halls, including the headquarters, Driving Learning Directorates and Security Complex in Muharraq, as part of precautionary measures against the spread of COVID-19. The directorate called upon the public to process their services through the e-traffic application and the government portal, bahrain.bh. Services that require the attendance of the applicants include transferring the ownership of number plates and vehicles, replacement of driving learning licence, owning number plates, issuance of certificates…

The Ministry of Health has announced that 353 of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) cases with a history of travel to countries with high infection rates, 68% were detected among travellers returning from Iran. To date, a total of 241 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been detected among travellers returning from Iran, followed by 57 travellers returning from the United Kingdom, 12 travellers returning from Egypt, eight returnees from Iraq and 27 travellers from other countries with high infection rates. Bahrain, with its high recovery rate, is being recognised as a model for mitigating the spread of COVID-19. To date, the Kingdom has recorded…

An official source at the Saudi Ministry of Interior has stated that within the Kingdom’s efforts to confront coronavirus pandemic, and in implementation of the recommendations of competent health authorities to raise the degree of precautionary and preventive measures in the cities of Makkah and Madinah, to preserve the health and safety of citizens and residents, it was decided the following: First: The curfew will be effective in all parts of the cities of Makkah and Madinah for 24 hours a day, with the continuing ban of entry into and exit from the two cities, as of today until further…

The fourth batch of Bahrainis has arrived from Iran. They are among the 1,630 citizens stranded in Iran since the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Health Ministry announced on Twitter that the group came on a chartered flight with all necessary medical precautions.

As part of the precautionary measures implemented by the kingdom to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) has launched the home delivery service of prescribed medicines to ensure the health, safety, and comfort of the patients. SMC management indicated that those wishing to benefit from the e-service shall provide the patients’ required information through the link on the Health Ministry’s website, and they will receive their medicines within 48 hours after the receipt of the demand. The pharmacy staff at the Salmaniya Medical Complex will, upon receipt of the request electronically, prepare the…

The best defence against any outbreak is a strong health system, stressed WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The COVID-19 pandemic is straining health systems worldwide. The rapidly increasing demand on health facilities and health care workers threatens to leave some health systems overstretched and unable to operate effectively. To help countries navigate through these challenges, the World Health Organization (WHO) has updated operational planning guidelines in balancing the demands of responding directly to COVID-19 while maintaining essential health service delivery and mitigating the risk of system collapse. This includes a set of targeted immediate actions that countries should consider at…

Tunisia has proposed a UN Security Council resolution that would call the coronavirus pandemic “a threat to humanity and to international peace and security” and call for an immediate global humanitarian cease-fire to respond to “the unprecedented threat posed by COVID-19 reported BNA. The UN’s most powerful body has not addressed the pandemic sweeping the globe, but Dominican Republic Ambassador Jose Singer, the current council president, said Wednesday he expects members to meet on COVID-10 “for sure next week, or before.” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is expected to brief the council at the request of Germany’s UN Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, diplomats…

More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating amid the coronavirus. The report on Thursday from the Labour Department showed that job cuts are mounting against the backdrop of economies in the United States and abroad that have almost certainly sunk into a severe recession as businesses close across the world. Applications for unemployment benefits generally reflect the pace of layoffs. Combined with last week’s report that 3.3 million people sought unemployment aid two weeks ago, the U.S. economy has…

In line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, to support the private sector as the main engine of growth, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has announced the termination of monthly work fees and fees for issuing and renewing work permits for a period of three months, starting from 1 April 2020. The move follows the government’s recent announcement of a comprehensive economic stimulus package to support the economy during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The LMRA highlighted its continued support for…