Category: Health

Europe has surpassed 100 million cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, according to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Worldwide, nearly 290 million cases have been recorded.

Nearly 5 million of Europe’s cases were reported in the last seven days, with 17 of the 52 countries or territories that make up Europe setting single-day new case records thanks to the highly contagious omicron variant, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday.

More than 1 million of those cases were reported in France, which has joined the U.S., India, Brazil, Britain and Russia to become the sixth country to confirm more than 10 million cases since the pandemic began, Reuters reported.

India’s health ministry reported 22,775 new cases of the coronavirus Saturday, saying the new cases bring the country’s omicron variant count to 1,431. Public health officials, however, have warned that the country’s COVID-19 tallies are likely undercounted.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday that paramedics in the Australian state of New South Wales had a “record breaking” level of calls overnight, resulting in its busiest night in 126 years, as the omicron variant of coronavirus sweeps across the globe.

New South Wales Ambulance Inspector Kay Armstrong told the newspaper the telephone calls included, “the usual business of New Year’s Eve—alcohol-related cases, accidents, obviously mischief—and then we had COVID on top of that.” The Herald reported paramedics also received “time-wasting calls from people wanting COVID-19 test results.”

Matthew Taylor, chief executive of Britain’s NHS Confederation, said the omicron variant will “test the limits of finite NHS [National Health Service] capacity even more than a typical winter.” Taylor also predicted that hospitals will be forced to make “difficult choices” because of the variant.

CNN reports that more than 30 colleges and universities have changed the starting date of their spring semesters as the omicron variant crosses the United States.

The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center on Saturday reported more than 289 million global COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. The center said 9.1 billion vaccinations have been administered.

Source: Voice of America

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Dubai Health Authority conducted a virtual training workshop with the Ministry’s Emirati employees in the UAE embassies and consulates across various countries of the world, in order to introduce the Doctor for Every Citizen telemedicine consultation service.

The workshop is in line with the recent MoU signed by the two entities aimed at offering healthcare programs to Emirati citizens abroad and to the ministry’s staff by providing tele-consultations as part of the authority’s Doctor for Every Citizen service.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) launched the 24/7 Doctor for Every Citizen initiative in 2019 to achieve Article Five of the Fifty-Year Charter, in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Doctors were also trained in sign language to provide this service to People of determination and this feature on the DHA app has also undergone regular updates to make it more user-friendly.

His Excellency Abdulla Mohamed Al Blooki, Assistant Undersecretary for Support Services Affairs Sector at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said the telemedicine initiative is an important addition to the overall care programs provided by the Ministry to its employees in UAE embassies and consulates around the world.

H.E. Al Blooki confirmed that the service will encourage employees in UAE embassies and consulates around the world to get regular periodic medical reviews and follow-up on their medical conditions. He added that the use of smart technology has greatly increased convenience and ensures healthcare follow-up at the same time.

Dr. Manal Taryam, CEO of Primary Health Care Sector at the Dubai Health Authority, said that the authority is proud of its partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

She said the service was particularly beneficial during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic as it provided the population with virtual medical consultations, which helped, minimize the need for hospitalizations and provided customers with high-quality medical consultations in the comfort of their homes.

She added that the success of this initiative led the authority to further expand its scope and add more specialties. She added that DHA is proud to provide this service to employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who are based in UAE embassies and consulates outside the country.

She added that DHA is keen to further build on its digital health capabilities in order to provide the highest quality of accessible and convenient patient-centered care.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation

The European Commission has adopted a new equivalence decision certifying that COVID-19 certificates issued by the UAE are equivalent to the EU Digital COVID Certificate.

As a result, the UAE will be connected to the EU’s system and its certificates will be accepted under the same conditions as the EU Digital COVID Certificate, the Commission said in a statement.

At the same time, the UAE agreed to accept the EU Digital COVID Certificate for EU nationals travelling to the UAE.

Didier Reynders, Commissioner for Justice at the European Commission, said, “The EU Digital COVID Certificate is unique and that’s why 55 countries and territories in five continents have joined the system so far with more than 750 million certificates issued. Even if we have a difficult time with COVID-19 variants, we need the certificate; it has served in the past and will continue to serve in the future to help people to travel safely.”

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation

DOHA – The Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) organized on Saturday its annual program for ‘Physical Fitness and Health’ at the Katara Cultural Village, in the frame of its continuous effort to promote the sports culture and making sport activities a lasting value for all community individuals.

This new look of 2021 Fitness and Health Program has seen the biggest ever spinning class in Qatar , that brought together more 200 participants from both genders.

The QOC organized this year’s program in cooperation with Katara cultural village and Befitness who is highly interested with QOC in promoting Health and physical fitness among local and residents.

The key objective of the QOC’s drive is to promote health and sport awareness among individuals, enhancing the QOC’s relationship with the local society and making sport an integral part of their daily lifestyles .

The Qatar Olympic Committee’s calendar includes 13 community events and more than 60 International Championships.

Source: Qatar Olympic Committee

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Friday that Europe remains the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting 2 million new cases last week, the region’s highest number since the pandemic began.

At a briefing in Geneva, the WHO chief said the region also reported nearly 27,000 deaths last week, more than half of all COVID-19 deaths worldwide.

Tedros said COVID-19 is surging in countries with lower vaccination rates in Eastern Europe, but also in countries with some of the world’s highest vaccination rates in Western Europe. He said it is a reminder that while vaccines reduce the risk of hospitalization, severe disease and death, they do not replace the need for other precautions.

Tedros said that while vaccines reduced transmission of the coronavirus, they do not fully prevent it.

On the subject of vaccines, the WHO chief once again spoke about the injustices of COVID-19 vaccine inequities and how wealthy nations are neglecting low-income nations in the distribution of the drugs. Tedros said every day, there are six times more boosters administered globally than primary doses in low-income countries.

He once again urged nations with stockpiled vaccine to donate it to the WHO-managed COVAX global vaccine cooperative to distribute to the developing world. He said that COVAX works when given the chance, having delivered almost 500 million doses to 144 countries and territories.

Tedros said the majority of countries are prepared to distribute vaccines to their people, but they need the doses. He said there are only two countries that have not started vaccinating their populations — Eritrea and North Korea.

The WHO has set a goal of fully vaccinating 40 percent of the population of every country in the world by the end of this year.

Source: Voice of America

The project includes “5” municipalities to build a healthy environment for citizens, residents and visitors

A delegation from the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean visited Qatar from October 24-27 to assess the Ministry of Public Health’s request to obtain the accreditation for Doha and Al Rayyan municipalities as the “Healthy City 2021.

The Ministry of Public Health and its partners across sectors of the country are working to obtain the accreditation for Doha and Al Rayyan municipalities as health cities by WHO, as part of a project that includes the adoption of five health cities, including the municipalities of Al Wakra, Al Khor and the North at later stages, to build a healthy environment for citizens, residents and visitors.

One of the objectives of the National Health Strategy 2018-2022 is to have the accreditation for at least one city as the “Healthy City” by WHO by 2022 via implementing intersectoral collaboration under the “Health in All Policies” priority, as there is a strong commitment in Qatar on healthy cities.

Dr. Samar al-Fiqi, the Regional Officer for Community-Based Initiatives, Healthy Settings and Health of Older Population, along with members of the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean delegation, visited the Al Dafna area of Doha Municipality, and the Education City of Al Rayyan Municipality, the two sites under evaluation The team also met a number of stakeholders from different sectors and they expressed great satisfaction with the high level of cooperation and interaction they had witnessed.

In the context of their visits to the sites, WHO’s team met a group of QF members, covering QF’s various activities, including education, community engagement and health promotion.

These efforts are reflected at the national level through the adoption of the newly designed health city logo for the State of Qatar, which is an octagonal logo, that has a well-known Arabic and Islamic pattern representing the eight municipalities in the State of Qatar. The lines of the new logo reflect the integration of municipalities and different sectors affecting all individuals and communities.

WHO Healthy Cities is a global movement working to put health high on the social, economic and political agenda of governments by promoting health, equity and sustainable development through innovation and multi-sectoral change. This comprehensive approach is based on integrating multidisciplinary actions across different sectors through community engagement, partnership, empowerment and equity.

Source: Ministry of Public Health

The Ministry of Public Health participated recently in the World Health Organization (WHO) webinar series on infection prevention and control titled, “Strengthening infection prevention and control in primary care: A new era starts today”.

The MOPH’s presentation during the event focused on providing an overview of challenges and solutions by showcasing the experiences of infection control workers at the primary health care facilities in Qatar and answering the questions raised by the attendees.

The webinar was attended by more than 3,000 participants from around the world and several international experts in the field of infection control and was held in conjunction with the International Infection Prevention Week during the period 17-23 October 2021, under the theme “Let’s fight infection.”

The Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with Hamad Medical and Primary Health Care Foundations, has recently organized Qatar Infection Control Week, which is a national initiative launched by the Ministry of Public Health through the Department of Strategic Planning and Performance to raise awareness and spread infection control concepts among all health care providers as well as the public in Qatar as part of International Infection Prevention Week.

The Ministry of Public Health, in collaboration with its partners in the health sector, has launched several activities, including a virtual awareness campaign aimed to promote awareness of infection control and prevention in health facilities in Qatar, in addition to a range of activities such as competitions and educational lectures. Awareness messages were broadcasted through social media platforms to raise awareness of infection control and highlight this year’s theme. Infection control team held several training shops for healthcare workers in the private sector to encourage them to follow the infection control guidelines and ensure that that infection control is not an optional practice, but it is how healthcare is provided at healthcare facilities in Qatar.

This year’s celebration focuses on highlighting the courage of infection prevention and control workers during the Covid-19 pandemic commending the brave role played by medical teams in combating the Coronavirus pandemic.

Source: Ministry of Public Health