Author: News Desk

‘In line with ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Ministry of Health is conducting field visits across the Kingdom, including in Manama- Bab Al-Bahrain area, Durrat Al Bahrain and areas alongside the Budaiya highway, to collect random medical samples using mobile screening units. “The ministry of health is taking precautionary measures in accordance with the updates as we go back to the local results in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The current capacity for the treatment centres stands at 1,667 beds of which 232 beds are occupied. As for the quarantine centres, the current capacity stands…

The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA), in collaboration with the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19), yesterday launched the “BeAware Bahrain” application. The application complements efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by advancing contact tracing efforts to swiftly identify and keep track of all active cases and their contacts. Chief Executive of Information & eGovernment Authority’s Mohammed Ali AlQaed revealed that statistics show over 60,000 users to have used the application. The App is the National platform for all the information related to the virus, instructions, guidelines and additional new features including government resolutions. The ‘Be Aware’ App…

South Korea said Tuesday it will begin the new school year on April 9 with online classes for middle and high school senior students following repeated delays due to the novel coronavirus. According to the Bahrain News Agency, the unprecedented move to introduce online classes at elementary, middle and high schools nationwide will be carried out step by step, depending on grades, according to the education ministry. The new school year here usually starts in March, but the country had postponed it three times by five weeks to next Monday over concerns that schools are vulnerable to small-scale cluster infections…

Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services has launched its first ‘Self Sanitisation Walk’ to protect paramedics and their colleagues and families from the risk of various kinds of infection. The new device helps paramedics safeguard themselves from any infection that their clothes may catch during the course of working with confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported. The ‘Self Sanitisation Walk’ sprays workers with a mist that disinfects clothes in less than 20 seconds. By detecting movements automatically, the device starts spraying only when a person passes through it, helping to save on energy. The device also…

The Appetite for the Middle East Broadcasting Centre (MBC) Group content across its channels has gone up. There is an 85 percent increase in TRPs in the third week of March compared to February. MBC has reported a significant surge in its overall performance, as well as its individual channels, as viewers in the region stay at home. Consumers aren’t just increasingly ordering grocery deliveries, they are consuming more TV content and online streaming videos for entertainment. MBC Group said that “behavioural changes have resulted in greater consumption of premium television content and entertainment.” New data suggested that the stay-at-home…

Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management has announced increased restrictions on movement in the Al Ras area of Dubai for two weeks from Tuesday, March 31 to facilitate enhanced sterilization procedures. Dubai Health Authority teams will provide all essential supplies to the residents of the area during the two-week period, Dubai Police announced. Dubai Police has appealed to the public to cooperate fully with the authorities and abide by all instructions to ensure the preventative measures implemented during the two-week period are successful. Meanwhile, Al Ras, Palm Deira and Baniyas Square Dubai Metro stations on the green line…

The Community Development Authority (CDA) has denied a rumor being circulated on social media platforms, which falsely claimed there would be communication regulations in the UAE in the wake of the COVID-19 fear. The authority stressed that it does not state any information related to other entities in the country. “The CDA calls on the public to be cautious and not to publish or exchange unreliable information and refer to the responsible sources for obtaining the correct information to avoid accountability and violate applicable legislation,” a statement from the authority said. A message that went viral and falsely attributed to the…

Saudi Arabia has registered eight deaths among 1,453 infections, the highest among the six Gulf Arab states. According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia will finance treatment for anyone infected with the coronavirus in the country, the health minister said on Monday, while the agriculture ministry took steps to boost wheat and livestock supplies amid global fears of a food shortage. Health Minister Tawfiq Al Rabiah said King Salman would cover treatment for citizens and residents diagnosed with the virus, urging people with symptoms to get tested. “We are all in the same boat,” he told a news conference, adding that Crown…

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its exponential growth, it is essential to support working families to minimize negative consequences for children, UNICEF and ILO said yesterday. Job loss, school closures, and unavailability of childcare mean that families, especially those in low-income households, need extra support. “The fallout from the pandemic – job losses, prolonged stress and a deterioration of mental health – will be felt by families for years to come,” said UNICEF Chief of Early Childhood Development Dr. Pia Rebello Britto. “For the most vulnerable children, the absence of adequate social protection systems exacerbates their exposure to the crisis.”…

A private school in Bahrain is standing in frontline along with the Bahrain medical staff in the fight against COVID 19. The St Christopher’s school staff are using the DT workshops and machinery to make face visors for medical staff in Bahrain. Head of Senior School Nick Wilson, Assistant Head Bryon Pearce and Head of Design and Technology Kim Chadwick have been using our four 3D printers to create face-visors to help protect the Bahraini medical workers caring for COVID-19 patients. The first batch went to BDF Hospital and Awali Cardiac Center and have been put to use immediately by…