MORE than 20 people, including a toddler and an eight-year-old girl, have tested positive after coming in contact with a Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) infected person at a private eye clinic, writes Reem Al Daaysi.

According to the contact tracing data on the Health Ministry’s web page dedicated to Covid-19, 22 confirmed positive cases emerged after a 61-year-old Indian man (case 193), who worked for Almosawi Eye Centre in Bilad Al Qadeem, tested positive for the disease.

The 61-year-old, who visited Al Hilal Hospital in Salmabad on March 9, passed on the infection to a 25-year-old Indian man (case 201); two Nepalese men, aged 40 and 46 (cases 235 and 200); a 33-year-old Indian man (case 202) who visited Al Hilal Hospital in Salmabad on March 1, and three other Indian men, aged 22 (case 205), 25 (case 203) and 33 (case 221).

Meanwhile, the eight-year-old Bahraini girl (case 214), who tested positive after visiting the clinic, subsequently infected seven other Bahrainis, including a four-year-old boy (case 220).

Others infected by the girl included three men, aged 75 (case 225), 50 (case 223) and 27 (case 224), as well as two women aged 28 (case 222) and 25 (case 217) along with a 19-year-old Bahraini female (case 234) who came in contact with the 50-year-old Bahraini man.

The GDN previously reported on March 19 that health authorities have urged anyone who has come in contact with individuals tested positive for Covid-19 to contact its 444 hotline.

The ministry also highlighted the case of a 71-year-old Bahraini man (case 215) who tested positive after he came in contact with two individuals who arrived from Iran in February.

After applying the contact tracing method, the ministry said that the 71-year-old man visited the eye clinic on March 5, attended a burial in Hoora Cemetery on March 8 and attended condolences in North Janusan Ma’atam on March 9.

He was subsequently admitted to Salmaniya Medical Complex with pneumonia on March 12 and tested negative for Covid-19.

However, the man was retested for Covid-19 on March 15, showing positive results.

The ministry said on its website that six other people contracted the virus after coming in contact with the 71-year-old man.

All six are Bahrainis – three men, aged 42 (case 229), 32 (case 240) and 19 (case 230), and three women, aged 62 (case 238), 33 (case 236) and 29 (case 231).

This means that 15 Bahrainis, six Indians and two Nepalese have been infected after coming in contact with a positive case at Almosawi Eye Centre.

Meanwhile, the number of active Covid-19 cases in Bahrain was 184 (at 8pm) yesterday, according to the latest statistics.

Of those, four were in critical condition while the rest were stable.

The number of patients discharged reached 125. So far 20,614 individuals have been tested for Covid-19 while 250 people have been released from quarantine after testing negative.