Dealing with continuous ramifications of COVID-19 required adaptability and flexibility via following health procedures and precautions, including speeding up vaccinations and PCR tests, said Health Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Saeed on Wednesday.

Addressing the Wednesday session of the National Assembly on the government workplan to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Dr. Al-Saeed affirmed that the current upward trend of infection during the current wave indicated that the pandemic was "far from over".

The capacity in various medical wards had been increased during the pandemic so as the number of medical staff from several fields, affirmed Dr. Al-Saeed revealing for example that the bed capacity in ICU units jumped to 260 percent to help address the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Dr. Al-Saeed stressed the importance of being vaccinated especially amongst members of the ministry’s medical staff, noting that prior to the pandemic, a considerable number of doctors and nurses lost their lives due to COVID-19 and not being vaccinated.

He also revealed that the government had worked its hardest to make vaccines and PCR test available to the masses both in the public and private medical practices to better address the pandemic and help curb its spread.