BY MOHAMMAD SHOEB
DOHA: MERS — Middle East Respiratory Syndrome — cases have reappeared in Qatar due to the approaching winter when the virus is more likely to grow, the Minister of Public Health and Secretary-General, Supreme Council of Health H E Abdullah bin Khalid Al Qahtani has said.
This month, two Qataris were tested positive for the deadly virus and the new cases have reappeared after over 10 months.
“The new cases have reappeared with the arrival of winter season. Especially during October, there is an ideal condition for the virus to grow,” the Minister told this daily on the sidelines of an event hosted by Public Works Authority (Ashghal) to award contracts to build healthcare facilities. He, however, said, “The cases are stable, and we are monitoring all sources (responsible for the spread of the virus) closely.”
The number of confirmed MERS cases in Qatar has reached 11, including the death of three Qataris and two expatriates.
On precautionary measures to deal with any outbreak of Ebola, the Minister said: “We have measures which were announced earlier. We are monitoring the situation and coordinating with World Health Organisation (WHO) in line with International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005.”
Under the regulations, all WHO members are obliged to assist and work together to save lives and livelihoods endangered by the spread of diseases and other health risks, and avoid unnecessary interference with international trade and travel.
“In our meeting of EMRO (Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office of WHO) in Tunisia last week, we exchanged latest information and updates on issues, including the Ebola crisis. The meeting was also attended by Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun, Director-General, WHO, where she expressed conviction to make the world Ebola-free soon,” he said.
Asked about the possibility of imposing any travel ban on people from Ebola-hit countries, such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, the Minister said: “There is no need to be worried. We are constantly monitoring the situation. We discussed the flights from the Nigerian route, which we have stopped for a while… As far as other countries are concerned, we do not have any direct flights from the above three countries.”
The Peninsula
