Qatar has been working above and beyond to make sure its citizens and residents are protected against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

With the best interest of its population in mind, the country announced a ban on public gatherings of all kinds among a series of other preventive and precautionary measures to curb the spread of the infectious disease.

Recently, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) confirmed that it is utilizing all its resources and capabilities to support Qatar's efforts to beat the virus.

The Ministry began the use of "Al-Asas" security robots to educate the community on the importance of preventing gatherings to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The robots come with a special facial recognition feature that can be used to find those who are supposed to be quarantined and report them back to the National Command Center (NCC).

Moreover, MOI is also using drones to raise awareness and broadcast messages to the public through a loudspeaker.

Amid these efforts, the Ministry is closely monitoring the situation to legally hold accountable anyone who goes against the laid out measures.

Yesterday, the Ministry announced that it has arrested four individuals for violating the law on preventing gatherings in public places.

The Ministry said in a tweet on its official Twitter page that the arrests were made after the Ministry verified the content of a video about the concerned individuals.

قامت الجهات المختصة بوزارة الداخلية بضبط عدد 4 أشخاص قطريين، خالفوا قرار منع التجمعات في الأماكن العامة، حيث تم التأكد من صحة المعلومات، بعد انتشار فيديو لهم في منطقة برية، على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي، وجارٍ إحالتهم للنيابة المختصة #الداخلية_قطر #سلامتك_هي_سلامتي

— وزارة الداخلية - قطر (@MOI_Qatar) April 12, 2020

The four persons have been referred to public prosecution, the Ministry mentioned.

MOI has once again called on all citizens and residents to adhere to the State's decision on preventing gatherings to ensure the safety of all amid the COVID-19 challenge.

The Ministry has been regularly reminding people that such gatherings are prohibited. These include gatherings on the Corniche, beaches, in public places, in front of restaurants and cafeterias, gathering for congregational prayers in front of mosques or on the roof of houses and buildings or in any other place.

This measure adds to Qatar's efforts to contain the virus and protect the wider community from the disease.

Those who are found guilty of violating these measures can face imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine of up to QR200,000, or any of the two, MOI has underlined.

Meanwhile, health authorities in the country continue to implement the highest level of monitoring, detection, and management procedures to deal with the virus, the public has been advised to follow certain measures to safeguard their health.

Qatar's efforts to tackle the disease have also drawn praise from a number of United Nations' representatives recently.

For any queries, or concerns related to COVID-19 in Qatar, the public can contact a 24/7 hotline set up by the Ministry. The hotline number is 16000 and is toll-free.

Here's everything you need to know about the virus, including ways to protect yourself.

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