Bahrain first again in COVID-19 recovery index

PHOTO

Bahrain has once again secured the top position globally in a key Covid-19 index.

As of July 31 this year, the kingdom with a score of 78 was the first among 121 countries mentioned in the Nikkei Covid-19 Recovery Index.

Bahrain ranked ahead of Cambodia and Portugal (jointly on 77.5) and Vietnam (76).

Regionally, Bahrain was followed by the UAE (75.5), Qatar (75), Saudi Arabia (70), Kuwait (65) and Oman (62).

Bahrain, with a score of 82, was also ranked first in December last year.

Health Minister Jaleela Al Sayed welcomed the news.

“Bahrain’s first place ranking in the latest edition of Nikkei’s Covid-19 Recovery Index is further evidence of the kingdom’s successful response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said last night.

“His Majesty King Hamad’s government reacted early and decisively which has led to a strong post-pandemic economic and social recovery.

“Throughout the pandemic, the government, led by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, has worked tirelessly to protect public health by ensuring minimal disruption to the kingdom’s health services.

“Bahrain’s universal vaccine roll-out campaign has been backed by a world-class public information campaign, the availability of multiple vaccines, and a high level of public buy-in.

“The kingdom’s successful navigation and handling of Covid-19, which has enabled an early emergence from the pandemic, is thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of Bahrain’s frontline workers and members of the public who embody the spirit of Team Bahrain.”

The monthly index, started by the world’s largest financial newspaper in July last year, assesses countries and regions on infection management, vaccine rollouts and social mobility.

The higher the ranking, the closer an area is to recovery, characterised by lower infection and death rates and better inoculation coverage, as well as fewer movement restrictions.

The score is the sum of the three categories and nine subcategories, each with a maximum of 10 points, for a total of 90 points.

Infection management includes confirmed cases of Covid-19 versus peak case count, confirmed cases per capita and tests per case.

Vaccine rollouts cover total vaccine doses given per capita, new vaccine doses given per capita, and share of people who have been fully vaccinated.

Mobility deals with community mobility, Oxford stringency index and flight activities.

Data sources included Our World in Data, Google Covid-19 Community Mobility Reports, Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker, flight data firm Cirium and Nikkei Asia research.

Bahrain’s top ranking is the latest demonstration of its successful role in leading Covid-19 mitigation efforts, including the increase in vaccination rollout (vaccines and boosters) and full adherence to health precautionary measures.

Bahrain launched its vaccination campaign against the coronavirus on December 17, 2020.

Until last Thursday, according to healthalert.gov.bh, a total of 1,239,504 individuals had received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. This accounts for 82.6 per cent of the total population of 1.5 million.

A total of 1,224,473 people (81.6pc) have been double jabbed while 998,538 have also taken the booster dose.

As of Thursday, the number of total PCR tests conducted reached 10,188,954, while there were 3,780 active cases and 656,683 recoveries.