Covid-19: Bahrain to move to ‘yellow alert level’ over omicron concerns

Bahrain has announced that it will move to ‘yellow alert level’ starting from Sunday, December 19, 2021, until Monday, January 31, 2022 due to concerns about the spread of the new Covid-19 variant omicron.

Under Bahrain’s traffic light system, the yellow alert level is in place when the rolling average of Covid-19 positive cases within intensive care units is 51 to 100 cases for seven days.

The National Medical Taskforce said the step is “precautionary”, since the omicron variant has not spread in the kingdom. “But the decision has been taken in line with Bahrain’s approach of prioritising public health through proactive planning and in accordance with international best practice,” the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

The Taskforce noted that the decision “remains subject to review” upon further information becoming available on the omicron variant.

It also stressed the importance of receiving booster shots on time, and urged qualifying individuals to visit health centres for their booster shots, without the need to make an appointment.

Yellow alert level guidelines

Essential sectors will remain open for all including hypermarkets and supermarkets, grocery stores, private health clinics, gas stations, banks, currency exchange centres, import and export distributors, auto repairs shops, construction, factories, telecom operators and pharmacies.

Up to 30 per cent work from policy will be in place for all government employees.

All vaccinated and non-vaccinated individuals will be permitted to:

* Attend education and training institutes
* Hold private events at home with no more than 30 people
* Visit retail shops
* Enter standalone government centres

However, only vaccinated green shield holders, those recovered from Covid-19, and children under the age of 12 years accompanied by a vaccinated person will be able to visit:

* Shopping malls
* Restaurants and cafes indoor services
* Indoor gyms, sport halls and swimming pools
* Barber shops, salons and spas
* Cinemas (capped at 50 per cent capacity)
* Playgrounds and entertainment centres (capped at 50 per cent capacity)
* Events and conferences (capped at 50 per cent capacity)
* Sporting events (capped at 50 per cent capacity)