Manama : Bahrain has extended the ongoing nationwide restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19 for another two weeks until June 25. The current restrictions were scheduled to end on June 10 but now have been extended.
The National Medical Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus in the country on Tuesday said that all precautionary measures will now stay in place until June 25.
The announcement was made after the health ministry reported 24 deaths in the last 24 hours, alongside 1,522 new infections and 2,743 recoveries.
Officials said activities could gradually resume after the new time period has passed, as long as applicable data allowed it.
Currently, Bahrain has seen 252,600 cases of Covid-19, with 231,113 having recovered. The death toll has reached 1,143.
According to the announcement, shopping malls, commercial shops, restaurants, coffee shops, gyms, salons, spas, cinemas and schools will continue to be closed.
All social gatherings and meetings, including at home, are barred. Work-from-home policy would cover 70% of Government employees, while remote learning will be continued at schools.
Hypermarkets, supermarkets, cold stores, groceries, bakeries, fish shops, petrol pumps, private hospitals, pharmacies and ATMs will be allowed to open. Restaurants and cafes can continue to provide delivery during the partial closure.
A total of 252,600 covid cases registered in the country so far, with 231,113 having recovered. The death toll has reached 1,143.
Meanwhile, Bahrain has surpassed the 1 million mark for the 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccinations, constituting 80 per cent of the eligible population, according to the ministry of health.
Official Health Ministry figures posted in its official Twitter account said that 10,02,977 have received at least one shot of one of the six free vaccines available for citizens and residents.
A total of 823,489 people have received the two doses of the vaccine.
The country’s mass vaccination efforts aim to inoculate a total of 1.5 million residents, including 712,000 Bahrainis and 679,000 expatriates.
Bahrain began inoculating residents and citizens with the Sinopharm Covid-19 shot and has introduced other vaccines, namely Pfizer BioNTech, AstraZeneca’s Covishield, Johnson & Johnson, Russia’s Sputnik V and Sputnik-Light. It has been providing vaccines free of charge to citizens and residents aged 18 years and above with an option to choose which vaccine they wish to receive. Recently, the country started inoculating adolescents aged 12-17 with Pfizer BioNTech.
It has moved into third place in the global rankings for vaccination rates, behind the UAE and Israel.
