Our World-Struck by the Pandemic

LEADERSHIP IN CRISIS & FRONTLINE HEROES
A Local Contribution to the Global Pandemic:
Bahrain’s COVID-19 Response
By Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa
The rapid contagion of COVID-19
caught much of the international
community off-guard. With each
passing day we in Bahrain watched with
frozen anticipation as the virus jumped
from China to other parts of Asia, to Europe
and then into our own region. Bahrain is
a small state (765 sq km), the sixth most
densely populated in the world, and
contagion would be fast and relentless.
Bahrain’s first obligation is to ensure the
health and safety of its people. An actionplan
went into immediate effect. As early
as 22 January, Bahrain’s Ministry of Health
announced that it would follow the World
Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines,
start implementing epidemiological
monitoring while taking pre-emptive
measures at Bahrain International Airport.
Bahrain takes healthcare seriously. It
always has.
Bahrain’s Crown Prince, His Royal
Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al
Khalifa, with the guidance of His Majesty
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, crafted a
plan to help everyone who calls Bahrain
home—citizens and expatriates alike.
From the national airport to other
points of entry, The Crown Prince directed
the Ministry of Health to deploy early
screening devices in a bid to prevent the
virus from reaching the Kingdom. This
required foresight. There was, as yet, no
real indication as to how far the virus would
spread or what kind of damage it would
do. Leaving nothing to chance became the
motto. And so, the Ministry of Health began
its precautionary work and strengthened
national capabilities needed for large
scale testing. At this point, COVID-19 was
responsible for only 170 deaths worldwide
and only 82 of the 7818 recorded cases
were outside China. There were, as yet,
no cases in Bahrain.
With phase one — prevention and
preparation — underway, the next step,
The Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa during a visit to the
National Taskforce to Combat COVID-19 operations center
as in any impending emergency, was to
develop a tailor-made Taskforce in order to
quickly and efficiently respond to the everevolving
situation. This took the form of the
National Taskforce to Combat COVID-19
with a fully functioning, multi-level, joint
operations centre up and running by 13
February. Coordination meetings were
then held to enhance the symbiosis of
private and public health institutions and
ensure that Ministry of Health guidelines
were being implemented. It was clear from
the start that the key to success would be
teamwork: not only teamwork between
government and the healthcare sector,
but by all segments of society. This was a
struggle that everyone needed to pitch in
to help with.
This teamwork is well reflected in the
#TeamBahrain which raises awareness
and develops real, functioning collective
efforts as counter-measures against the
pandemic. Reaching out via social media
and ensuring the proper, uninterrupted
flow of information rests at the heart of
combating COVID-19. As the Minister of
Finance and National Economy, Shaikh
Salman bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, rightly noted
“We are always very proud of our “Team
Bahrain” approach; which is a seamless
integration of government entities private
enterprise in delivering forward on a vision
has been in place for over 20 years in terms
of diversifying the economy and moving
things forward.” #TeamBahrain’s Twitter
and Instagram messaging contributed to
saving lives; it helped people make sense
of the dangers and respond in kind. And,
it also helped allay fears and share in the
many success stories Bahrain has already
witnessed.
From Planning to Deployment
— The Action Plan in Action
No strategy, Clausewitz reminds us,
survives contact with the enemy. No matter
the planning and preparations, COVID-19
is a stubborn opponent. Inevitably, on
24 February, Bahrain recorded its first
case from an individual returning from
Iran. The action-plan shifted to embrace
both further prevention and to detect
and contain the virus. Protocols were
activated and the testing of persons who
arrived from Iran over the previous 30 days
begun. In case isolation and treatment, for
the hundreds of people being tested, was
required it was made available. Travel was
suspended to and from Iran, all educational
institutions were closed and public events
were postponed. Self-quarantine became
16 MAY 2020 | OUR WORLD