MANAMA — Bahrain has so far carried out two million coronavirus tests, covering 50 percent of the kingdom's population at least once, it was revealed at a press conference on Wednesday held by the national coronavirus taskforce. Dr. Waleed Khalifa Al Manea, the undersecretary at Bahrain's ministry of health and a member of the taskforce, pointed out that Bahrain has ordered more than one million vaccines since last August from several companies, and will be one of the first countries to receive the vaccines as soon as they are approved by the national authority and international health organizations. Dr. Al Manea said that Bahrain's wide-ranging precautionary measures and strategies have received international recognition. The United Kingdom's recent announcement of adding Bahrain to the safe "travel corridors", allowing citizens to travel to the UK without having to quarantine, is a testimony to this, he added. Dr. Al Manea also highlighted Bahrain's readiness to host both the Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, and the Formula One Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix, adding that all precautionary and preventative measures and protocols have been adopted to ensure the health and safety of all. At the outset of the conference, the national taskforce lauded the directives of King Hamad bin Isa Al Salman Al Khalifa to provide a safe COVID-19 vaccine for all citizens and residents within the kingdom. The taskforce also praised Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa's directives to allocate seats for frontline health workers and first responders and their families, at the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix and the Formula 1 Rolex Sakhir Grand Prix, in appreciation of their tireless efforts in supporting the kingdom's national response to COVID-19.
