Doha: The Ministry of Public Health reaffirmed its continuous and prompt follow-up to the epidemiological situation of the emerging coronavirus, against the background of the World Health Organization’s declaration that the virus has become a global health emergency with the emergence of cases in countries other than China.
The Ministry of Public Health stressed that it is closely monitoring the developments of the emerging coronavirus around the world while continuing to raise the degree of preparedness through a system of monitoring the epidemiological situation at the local and global levels, in coordination and full communication with WHO.
The Ministry said that, until the moment, no case of infection was recorded in the State of Qatar. The Ministry further explained that it took all necessary precautions and measures to monitor any suspected case at Hamad International Airport, after installing thermal cameras at the airport a week ago to record the temperature of passengers from a distance while raising awareness between the travellers regarding symptoms of pneumonia include high fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing.
The Ministry of Public Health assured the public that the health sector in the State of Qatar is ready to deal with any situation regarding the emerging coronavirus.
The Ministry confirmed that it has taken all means to ensure the diagnosis and treatment of cases when they are discovered and the necessary procedures to isolate the people close to the patients when necessary.
The Ministry of Public Health explained that these measures taken in Qatar contribute to strengthening health monitoring in all state border points and raising awareness to ensure the public gets accurate information about the disease and the most important methods of prevention.
The Ministry of Public Health indicated that the emerging coronavirus may not show some of its symptoms to the infected person until two to 14 days after infection.
Since the appearance of the virus in China, the Ministry of Public Health has issued national guidelines for dealing with new cases of coronavirus, with alerting all hospitals and government and private health facilities in the State to report any suspected respiratory infections, especially for travelers coming from countries where it is spread, during the 14 days of their arrival, with a focus on the importance of reporting cases that show symptoms of respiratory infections, where investigative teams make daily visits to hospitals to ensure that any of them conform with the definition approved by the WHO for suspected cases.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Public Health recommended avoiding unnecessary travel to cities where the virus is spread in China, as well as avoiding close contact with animals in the affected areas and not mixing closely with people who show symptoms of respiratory infections while continuing to wash hands with soap and water.
The rapid response team at the Ministry of Public Health operates around the clock and receives any communications or inquiries related to communicable diseases on the hotline numbers 66740948 or 66740951.