Table (1) for Box (2-13): SARS-CoV-2 Variant Classifications and Definitions
Date of WHO announcement of
variant
Country and date of
discovery
Pengo
Lineage
Label
Variant degree
18/12/2020
UK, Sep-2020
B.1.1.7
Alpha
WHO variants of
concern
18/12/2020
South Africa, May-2020
B.1.351
Beta
11/01/2021
Brazil, Nov-2020
P.1, P1.1
,
P1.2
Gamma
11/05/2021
India, Oct - 2020
B.1.617.2
Delta
17/03/2021
Multiple countries,
Dec-2020
B.1.525
Eta
WHO variants of
Interest
24/03/2021
USA, Nov-2020
B.1.526
Iota
04/04/2020
India, Oct-2020
B.1.617.1
Kappa
14/06/2021
Peru, Dec-2020
C.37
Lambda
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
https://www.cdc.gov/
Qatar Economic Outlook 2021 - 2023
110
Unsurprisingly, this cavalier attitude led to the
number of cases dramatically doubling by the
end of January 2021, which prompted the
government to launch an awareness
campaign asking the population to adhere to
the precautionary measures after a new
variant of the virus appeared, as indicated in
Box (2-13).
Managing COVID-19 Crisis During
Second Wave
In Qatar, the number of infections continued
to pick up on a daily basis during February
and March 2021, with a weekly average of
3,286 cases, for a weekly maximum of 4,065
cases and a minimum of 2,190 cases. This
prompted the competent authorities to
develop a plan to re-impose precautionary
restrictions consisting of four levels: Level 1:
restrictions on high-risk activity: Level2: for
moderate to high-risk activities if the infection
prevalence rate has not decreased; Level 3:
further restrictions to be imposed if cases
continue to rise; and Level 4: a complete
lockdown shall be imposed, as in other
countries. Based on this plan, the Cabinet
issued a decision on 26 March 2021 for
imposing
Level-1
procedures
and
restrictions,
including
reducing
the
percentage of employees present in the
workplaces for both the public and private
sectors from 100% to 80%. However, due to
the increase in cases, a decision was issued
on April 7th, 2021, with Level-2 and Level-3
measures and restrictions imposed, as
indicated in Table (2-6), including the
reduction of employees present in their
workplaces in public and private companies
to 50%.
Of course, these measures led to the closure
of many social and economic activities, but
the restrictions were subject to periodical
review. The most recent of those revisions
was on September 29, 2021, when the
Council of Ministers issued a decision
absolving people of the need to wear masks
in public places outdoors, followed by a
decision issued on October 13th, 2021 by the
Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC),
stipulating that 27 out of 28 health centers
would be open to the public by prior
registration with Hamad Medical Corporation,
where the centers will work at full capacity to
provide all services, including face-to-face
consultations, as indicated in Table (2-6).
.
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |