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Tribune News Network
Doha
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded the way Qatar is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
In a tweet published on Thursday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has become the public face of the global fight against coronavirus, said he had a "good call" with Qatar's Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al Kuwari.
"I congratulated her for HH the Amir (Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani's) leadership to contain #coronavirus & efforts to implement a comprehensive approach to suppress and control #COVID19," he said in the tweet.
With coronavirus continuing to spread out of China to parts of South Asia, Middle East and Europe in the initial days of March, the WHO had called on nations to “pull out all the stops” to fight the outbreak.
“This epidemic can be pushed back but only with a coordinated and comprehensive approach that engages the entire machinery of government,” Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva on March 5. “We’re calling on every country to act with speed, scale and clear-minded determination.”
On February 29, Qatar had confirmed its first coronavirus case, on a 36-year-old citizen returning from Iran, which is a hotspot of the disease in the Middle East.
A little over a week later, the Ministry of Public Health announced for the first time that three expatriates working in the country had contracted the virus. The 12 previous cases all involved Qatari citizens and other nationals evacuated in late February from Iran.
On March 8, Qatar banned the entry of travellers from 14 Asian countries as the first step of a series of widespread measures to contain the spread of the outbreak.
A day later, it announced a nationwide closure of schools and universities, with public places that attracted a large number of people like the Katara Cultural Village, the National Museum of Qatar and Qatar Foundation facilities closing down in subsequent days.
A week later, on March 14, Qatar extended the travel restrictions, suspending visas on arrival for travellers from Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Sudan, and a day later, asked restaurants and cafes to shut down their dining rooms.
On March 17, the government locked down a portion of its Industrial Area where a large number of people have tested positive for Covid-19. Leading by example, the government directed all state entities to ask 80 percent of their staff to work from home. The firms in the private sector followed suit.
So far Qatar has confirmed 452 cases of coronavirus, with only 10 cases testing positive in the last 36 hours. More than 8,873 people have been tested for the disease. While Qatar hasn't reported any fatality linked to the virus or termed any case as being ‘critical’ so far, four coronavirus-infected persons have recovered, with more recoveries expected in the coming days.
Doha
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has lauded the way Qatar is dealing with the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
In a tweet published on Thursday, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has become the public face of the global fight against coronavirus, said he had a "good call" with Qatar's Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al Kuwari.
"I congratulated her for HH the Amir (Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani's) leadership to contain #coronavirus & efforts to implement a comprehensive approach to suppress and control #COVID19," he said in the tweet.
With coronavirus continuing to spread out of China to parts of South Asia, Middle East and Europe in the initial days of March, the WHO had called on nations to “pull out all the stops” to fight the outbreak.
“This epidemic can be pushed back but only with a coordinated and comprehensive approach that engages the entire machinery of government,” Ghebreyesus said during a press briefing at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva on March 5. “We’re calling on every country to act with speed, scale and clear-minded determination.”
On February 29, Qatar had confirmed its first coronavirus case, on a 36-year-old citizen returning from Iran, which is a hotspot of the disease in the Middle East.
A little over a week later, the Ministry of Public Health announced for the first time that three expatriates working in the country had contracted the virus. The 12 previous cases all involved Qatari citizens and other nationals evacuated in late February from Iran.
On March 8, Qatar banned the entry of travellers from 14 Asian countries as the first step of a series of widespread measures to contain the spread of the outbreak.
A day later, it announced a nationwide closure of schools and universities, with public places that attracted a large number of people like the Katara Cultural Village, the National Museum of Qatar and Qatar Foundation facilities closing down in subsequent days.
A week later, on March 14, Qatar extended the travel restrictions, suspending visas on arrival for travellers from Italy, France, Germany, Spain and Sudan, and a day later, asked restaurants and cafes to shut down their dining rooms.
On March 17, the government locked down a portion of its Industrial Area where a large number of people have tested positive for Covid-19. Leading by example, the government directed all state entities to ask 80 percent of their staff to work from home. The firms in the private sector followed suit.
So far Qatar has confirmed 452 cases of coronavirus, with only 10 cases testing positive in the last 36 hours. More than 8,873 people have been tested for the disease. While Qatar hasn't reported any fatality linked to the virus or termed any case as being ‘critical’ so far, four coronavirus-infected persons have recovered, with more recoveries expected in the coming days.
