Qatar Coronavirus Updates -- Statistics from the Government

Another day, another 518 cases. The total for Qatar is now at 6,533. Because this has been a recent wave almost 6,000 of the cases are listed as 'active'. Thankfully no new deaths today.

Yesterday the Government released updated statistics about the infections. It continues to demonstrate how age is a huge factor in susceptibility to the virus and thus why Qatar's young population is the main reason why the crisis is not as severe as other nations. Only 2% of cases in Qatar are people aged 65 or older, and only 5% are aged 55-64.

This has helped hospitals a lot. Yesterday the case count was 6,000 and only 72 people are currently in intensive care. 52 people have left intensive care which means that so far out of 6,000 cases only 124 people needed the ICU and only 9 people have died.

So the number of cases is alarming but so far the vast majority of cases are mild to moderate because most people in Qatar are expats in their 20s-40s. Because Qatar is doing contact tracing I am guessing that many of the cases are people who are not feeling ill at all, they were tested due to contact and found positive.

Contrast that with areas with a more 'normal' age distribution. The Province of British Columbia in Canada gives daily briefings and the numbers are a sobering comparison:


British Columbia [Qatar]

Population: 5 million [2.8 million]

Covid cases: 1,699 [6,533]

Active cases: 660 [5,910]

In intensive care: 49 [72]

Deaths: 86 [9]


This I hope highlights the importance of young people trying to stay home as much as possible instead of selfishly thinking they'll be fine since they're young. If covid gets into a community with elderly people the consequences can be devastating.


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Distraction of the Day: The YouTube channel 'Real Royalty' with tons of 1-hour shows about the British Royal Family (including historical ones). Nice documentaries. This channel informed me about Prince Charles Edward, a grandson of Queen Victoria who became a Nazi! Didn't know that story before.