*** ----> Labour Ministry launches special online services, hotline | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Labour Ministry launches special online services, hotline

TDT | Manama

With the danger of commu- nity spread of Coronavi- rus (COVID-19) getting louder with each passing day, Bahrain’s Labour ministry has come up with a strategy to help delay its progress further in line with the guidelines issued to ensure social distancing.

People with enquires and fol- low-ups on their job application will no longer have to crowd its floor, as they can now do that from the safety of their homes by employing ministry’s new online service or hotline.

The minister, Jameel Hu- maidan, said the new services, available on www.mlsd.gov.bh, and the hotline (8000 8001), are based on the directives of the Executive Committee to take precautionary measures to con- tain and prevent the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19).

The Committee, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Sal- man bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, had called for ensuring maximum safety and highest health levels for all.

To protect public health and slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19, Bahrain’s has recently devised an 11-point plan which includes a call for limiting public gathering to 20 people of fewer and committing to staying at home as much as possible and go out for necessity only.

According to reports, Public health measures are usually im- plemented as combinations of two or more measures, which is sometimes referred to as “layered use”. The theoretical rationale for layering public health measures is based on the expectation that combinations are likely to be more effective than the partial effectiveness of a single measure.

By launching this new online service and the hotline, Bah- rain’s Labour ministry has ef- fectively eliminated the need for people to group at its premises.

With COVID-19 being a new disease and the fact that we are still learning how it spread, every single move, as experts say, big or small, matters.

As of now, there are over 225,237 Coronavirus infections all of the world. While 9,276 peo- ple lost their lives to the virus, 85,823 managed to recover.

According to the Ministry of Health website, Bahrain test- ed 16,269 people for the novel Coronavirus. as of now. There are 168 active cases, with 164 people with stable health and 4 continuing as critical. Until now, Bahrain has discharged 100 people from quarantine.

Community spread means people have been infected with the virus in an area, including some who are not sure how or where they became infected. 

Arrivals from Iran

Meanwhile, Dr Walid Al- Manea, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, confirmed that work is underway to facil- itate the arrival of the second group of citizens currently in Iran through the Internation- al Covid-19 Repatriation Pro- gramme.

Dr Al Manea affirmed that the Ministry had chartered a plane to evacuate them yesterday, but the company which had agreed to operate the flight were unable to assist at this time.

Manea noted that the Ministry will take any means necessary to arrange a suitable alternative arrangement as soon as possible.

Dr Al-Manea explained that the Ministry is continuing its ef- forts to intensify all measures to contain and prevent the spread of COVID-19. “These measures include immediate laboratory tests for all evacuated citizens on arrival in the Kingdom, under the supervision of a specialised medical team.”

Based on the results, citizens will either be transferred to a quarantine centre or isolation and treatment centres, accord- ing to the guidelines and stand- ards approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Iran connections

On March 2020, the first group of 165 Bahraini citizens returned from Iran on a special flight, in which 77 citizens tested positive for coronavirus.

Bahrain’s Interior Minister General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa has earlier accused that many of the recorded infections throughout the Gulf region are linked to travel to Iran.

“With this behaviour, Iran has allowed the disease to travel abroad, and in my estimation, this constitutes a form of biological aggression that is criminalised by international law, as it has put in danger our safety and 

health and that of others,” Bahraini Interior Minister General Sheikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia which had already made it a crime to travel to Iran, denounced the country for granting Saudi citizens entry.