COVID-19: Iftar gathering ends with 16 members of a family being infected in Bahrain
Failure to follow precautionary measures blamed for the coronavirus infections
Dubai: An iftar gathering in Bahrain ended up with 16 family members contracting the novel coronavirus from one sick relative, the Ministry of Health announced late on Saturday.
The family members were infected due to a failure to follow precautionary measures including avoiding gatherings, wearing masks and social distancing, the ministry tweeted. The infected person spread the contagious disease to all present family members, including parents, siblings as well as several children.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to adhere to guidelines and precautionary measures in order to prevent the spread of the virus,” the ministry said.
The ministry added it is ramping up its efforts and expanding its testing capacity to maintain everyone’s safety through the early detection of cases and contact tracing.
Also late last night, the ministry reported another 179 active COVID-19 cases among 157 expatriate workers and 22 contacts of active cases, in addition to six additional recoveries.
Bahrain has recorded 4,774 total infection cases, with 2,055 recoveries and eight deaths so far.
The small island kingdom allowed shops and industrial enterprises to reopen last week as the government eased restrictions implemented to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.