Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): As the number of Coronavirus cases and deaths is setting a record everyday in Bahrain, the country is falling back in fighting the Coronavirus epidemic.

There is a significant delay in providing urgent medical services to the infected, severe lack of capacity, employment of incompetent foreign medical staff and disregard for hiring unemployed citizens and medical volunteers. This, in short, reflects the health scene.

Bahrain has the highest daily casualty rate among the six Gulf States.

The head of the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus, Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, informed representatives of the legislative authority that his team has the intention to increase the number of staff working in the front lines to fight the pandemic.

Al Khalifa, who was attending a consultative meeting with members of both councils, said the team is working towards increasing the number of beds in the intensive care unit to 500.

Bahrain has brought dozens of medical staff from India and East Asia while ignoring the employment of hundreds of Bahraini graduates in various medical fields.

According to unofficial estimates, more than 700 doctors, nurses and technicians in Bahrain are unemployed, while dozens work in private hospitals in miserable professional conditions.

Although dozens volunteered to work in the front line to fight the pandemic, none of them were accepted.

MP Adel Al-Assumi called for "correcting the situation of unemployed volunteers (...) instead of employing foreigners." He stressed that this situation is unacceptable.

"Bahraini medical staff work in various fields, have experience and are qualified to start working under these current circumstances. They have shown great responsibility in dealing with the pandemic," the MP stated.

Volunteers have expressed their disappointment for bringing in foreigners instead of employing them.

A female volunteer in the front lines said some of those brought in from India do not know the simplest medical terms, adding that volunteers are training the foreign staff despite their stressful working conditions.

The crisis of unemployed graduates in medical fields has accumulated for years under a policy marginalizing Bahraini graduates.

Graduates were optimistic in the new government statements about rewarding volunteers, including Finance Minister Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, however, the government's approach has not changed.

While the government justifies not employing Bahrainis due redundancy, the three main government hospitals; Al-Salmaniya Medical Complex, King Hamad University and Military Hospital are full of foreigners.

The government's policy of excluding Bahrainis has left thousands of unemployed university graduates in various fields.

According to estimates by the General Federation for Bahrain Trade Unions, the unemployment could reach 11% as structural problems continue in the labor market.

Despite the frustrated voices of the unemployed, GFBTU, and other effective parties that could reach officials in the government, they continue to employ foreigners instead of Bahrainis.

If Bahrain needs to increase the number of medical staff, as Mohammad bin Abdullah says, why are the volunteers who sacrificed their lives for Bahrain ignored? Do we really need to create new crises? Why do people have to pay a hefty price because ofbmarginalization policies?

Arabic Version