DOHA: A new function is set to be introduced to the Ehteraz app in the middle of this month to support people undergoing home quarantine.
In cases where an individual resides in a location without a ‘blue plate’ listing their national address, or in cases where the individual chooses to quarantine in a location different to their primary registered residence, he/she will be able to use the map function to select their quarantine location.
Individuals will only have the ability to select the home quarantine location once. After their initial selection, the location will be locked for the duration of the quarantine.
With Qatar having entered Phase 4 of the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, Ehteraz Joint Taskforce Committee head and Hamad General Hospital Medical Director Dr Yousef Al Maslamani said Ehteraz is playing an important role in keeping Qatar’s population safe.
Advanced application
“Ehteraz has provided us with an advanced application to support both the public and the health sector during Covid-19. The universal and sustained use of Ehteraz offers critical benefits to citizens and residents of Qatar and helps to protect individuals, family members, and the entire community,” said Al Maslamani.
He added: “The success of Ehteraz in keeping people safe from Covid-19 requires the support of the population and for all citizens, residents, and visitors to download the application and ensure they have it running at all times when outside of their home”
He said it also reassures users about the status of others they may be in contact with by allowing them to ask to see their Ehteraz status. He notes it also helps people feel safe and protected in public facilities including malls, supermarkets, and offices.
Ehteraz has been supporting people undergoing home quarantine after returning from abroad.
Passengers from abroad
Passengers arriving from low-risk countries have their Ehteraz status set to yellow for the duration of their home quarantine. They must perform a swab test on day six and their Ehteraz status will not turn green until the swab test is performed and a negative result has been verified.
This process helps to reduce the risk of returning travellers bringing the virus back into Qatar and passing it on to other members of the community.
“Ehteraz is also a vital tool being used by our frontline teams at the Ministry of Public Health. The teams are actively working to identify the contacts of confirmed cases as well as potential new cases of the virus to cut of transmission chains and reduce further spread of Covid-19,” said Director of E-Health at the Ministry of Public Health, and Co-Chair of the Ehteraz Joint Taskforce Committee, Dr Juliet Ibrahim.
Questions answered
Answers to common questions related to Ehteraz can be found both within the application itself and on the Ministry of Public Health Covid-19 website.
Additionally, people can raise technical issues with the support team by calling 109, or for more general Covid-19 queries, the support team on 16000 is available to answer queries.