AMMAN — With the country’s
COVID-19 cases rising daily and the occupancy of
ICU beds increasing, epidemiologists are concerned about the mounting pressure on the Kingdom’s health system and the emergence of the emergence of the Omicron variant, according to Al-Ghad.
اضافة اعلان
Experts stressed the need to amend the nation’s treatment protocols, as the majority of the COVID cases are concentrated in the northern and central regions, citing a 60-percent hospital occupancy rate as a threshold of concern. Furthermore, they cited their fears that cases will increase among refugee and student populations.
Opinion is divided among epidemiologists. For some, the rate at which the cases are increasing is fueling their concerns that the country may lose control of the virus. Others said they were confident things were under control and that the healthcare system, bolstered by field hospitals, could bear the weight of the increased caseload.
Bassam Hijawi, a member of the National Epidemiological Committee, said that the indicators to date are “not serious”, noting that before making such judgments several indicators need to be taken into consideration, such as the weekly COVID data, hospital occupancy, and positivity rate.
Hijawi said that the entire Kingdom’s data must be taken into consideration, not just a single area or region’s. He stressed that fears will rise once hospitalization rates exceed 60 percent.
For his part, the advisor to Prime Minister for health affairs responsible for COVID-19, Adel Al-Balbisi, confirmed that hospital occupancy rates in other governorates of the Kingdom are within normal limits and that there is no cause for concern unless they reach, or exceed, 60 percent, noting that the government is prepared to increase the number of beds in any hospital or area when needed.
Read more National news
.jpg)
.jpg)
