Bahrain updates COVID-19 measures amid global surge in coronavirus infections

A picture taken on December 3, 2020, shows the world trade centre (R) and the skyline of the Bahraini capital Manama. (File/AFP)
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Updated 07 January 2022
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Bahrain updates COVID-19 measures amid global surge in coronavirus infections

  • Kingdom will increase COVID-19 rapid testing for employees across Bahrain’s vital sectors

DUBAI: Bahrain has updated its COVID-19 measures due to a rapid growth in coronavirus infections across the globe.

Bahrain’s updates will be implemented starting Jan. 9, the state news agency BNA reported.

The country said it will increase its PCR testing for those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, as well as individuals who have a positive rapid antigen test, and those who have been in close contact with active coronavirus cases.  

Similarly, the Kingdom will increase the COVID-19 rapid testing for employees across Bahrain’s vital sectors.

Vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals arriving in the country must present a negative PCR test result issued no more than 72 hours before landing.

They will also be required to take another nasal test upon arrival.

“Unvaccinated individuals aged 12 years and above must complete a 10-day quarantine in their residence or place of stay,” the report said.

The Kingdom said that the rollout of its vaccination campaign will run at the same pace, with 
isolation and treatment centers operating at their current capacities.

Omicron is behind rapid virus spikes in several countries, including those where it has already overtaken the previously-dominant Delta variant, the WHO said in its COVID-19 weekly epidemiological update.

The more infectious omicron variant of COVID-19 appears to produce less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but should not be categorized as “mild,” World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on Thursday.
Janet Diaz, WHO lead on clinical management, said early studies showed there was a reduced risk of hospitalization from the variant first identified in southern Africa and Hong Kong in November compared with Delta.

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Israel warns Lebanon of severe response if Hezbollah joins US-Iran conflict

Updated 25 min 12 sec ago
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Israel warns Lebanon of severe response if Hezbollah joins US-Iran conflict

  • Israel dealt heavy blows to ⁠the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah during ‌a war ‌in 2024

GENEVA/BEIRUT:  Israel has sent an indirect message to Lebanon that it would strike Lebanon ​hard, targeting civilian infrastructure including the airport, in the event that Hezbollah gets involved in any US-Iran war, two senior Lebanese officials said on Tuesday.

The Lebanese army ​command issued orders to reinforce a post which it said came ‌under ‌fire from ​the ‌Israeli ⁠side ​and to ⁠respond to the source of fire, the military wrote ⁠on X ‌on ‌Tuesday.
The ​army ‌said in ‌the post that the vicinity of a ‌new observation post at the southern ⁠border ⁠in Marjayoun area came under fire from the Israeli side. 

The office of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Lebanese presidency did not ‌immediately respond ‌to requests for comment.
Iran ​and ‌the ⁠US will ​hold a ⁠third round of nuclear talks on Thursday in Geneva, Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on Sunday, amid growing concerns about the risk of military conflict between the adversaries.
Israel dealt heavy blows to ⁠the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah during ‌a war ‌in 2024, killing its leader ​Hassan Nasrallah along with ‌thousands of its fighters and destroying much ‌of its arsenal.
Shiite Muslim Hezbollah was established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982. Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem said in a televised address last ‌month that the group was “not neutral” in the standoff between ⁠Washington and ⁠Tehran, and that it was “targeted by the potential aggression.”
“We are determined to defend ourselves. We will choose in due course how to act, whether to intervene or not,” Qassem said. The US State Department is pulling out non-essential government personnel and their eligible family members from the US embassy in Beirut, a senior State ​Department official ​said on Monday.