Coronavirus Higher Advisory Committee is to meet shortly and recommend to the Cabinet a series of measures aimed at easing of restrictions and health protocols set up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.This follows the marked and sustained improvements in the COVID-19 epidemiological situation witnessed over the last few weeks.
The restrictions ameliorating steps being examined by the committee are reportedly geared at paving the way for the return to full normalcy without the need for any further health restrictions.
Among the recommendations are said to be abolishing the need for regular PCR test for all students and teachers, allowing people to enter enclosed places, such as theaters and cinemas without the need to produce proof of a negative PCR test, as well as canceling the need to take a booster dose of the vaccine after nine months from receiving the second dose, and using the green color on the vaccination certificate for those who took the two doses.
Also the steps taken earlier to encourage the unvaccinated and raise awareness on the benefits of vaccination will gradually be phased out, as will the need to wear facemasks, while continuing to emphasize the importance of wearing masks in public places.
Health authorities are also expected to adopt a package of measures that would allow hospitals to return to the normal situation, and restart therapeutic work protocols at healthcare facilities, including at Al-Jaber Hospital that was earlier designated as a COVID-19 treatment center. The Mishref Center would also be shut down and vaccinations will continue to be provided only through healthcare centers located in various suburbs.
The Ministry of Health is also said to be studying the adoption of the new oral antiviral drug Paxlovid, developed by Pfizer, which has been found to reduce risk of hospitalization or death by 89 percent among non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID-19.