Qatar announced additional measures today to ensure the population remains at low risk of being affected by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Her Excellency Lolwah bint Rashid Al-Khater, Spokesperson for the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, announced the latest preventive measures implemented by the State of Qatar to limit the spread of coronavirus.

COVID-19 new cases and recovery

During the press conference, HE Al-Khater announced the discovery of 12 new cases of COVID-19 in Qatar including three Qatari citizens.

It was also announced that two patients who had contracted COVID-19 in Qatar have beat the virus. The two patients have recovered from the COVID-19 infection and are in good health, the officials confirmed. With these, the total number of COVID-19 recovery in Qatar has now reached 43.

New law has been issued

Law No. 9 of 2020 amending some of the provisions of the Decree Law No 17 of 1990 on the prevention of infectious diseases.

Under the law, the provisions of articles 4 of Decree Law No. 17 of 1990 will provide for that burden of reporting stipulated in the previous article falls on every doctor who examines someone who is infected or suspected of having an infectious disease; the infected person and their guardian, the president or representative of the infected person's university, institute or school, infected person's direct manager -if the infection took place or suspected to have taken place during performing work duties, and on the employer, in case of expatriates, whether the infection took place inside or outside the state; when any of them knows about it.

The provisions of articles 21 of Decree Law No. 17 of 1990 will provide for that, without prejudice to any more severe punishment stipulated in any other law:

1. Violating the provisions of Articles (3), (4), (6 bis), (7 / second and third paragraphs), (8), (11), and the procedures and measures taken by the Council of Ministers in accordance with the provisions of Article (10 / last paragraph), is punishable by imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years and a fine not exceeding QAR 200,000, or by either of these two penalties.
2. Violating the provisions of Articles (15 / last paragraph), (16) and (17) is punishable by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month and by a fine not exceeding QAR 10,000, or by either of these two penalties.

In addition, more articles are added to the Decree Law No. 17 of 1990, including:

Article (6-bis) which stipulates that every person who is placed in isolation or quarantine, with the knowledge of the health authorities, according to the provisions of the previous article, must remain in the place of isolation designated by that authority and abide by the procedures for isolation and control.

Article (10/last paragraph), which stipulates that the Council of Ministers, upon the proposal of the Minister, and with a view to limiting the spread of the infectious disease, may take appropriate public measures to preserve public health, including imposing restrictions on the freedom of persons to gather, move, reside and pass in certain places or times.

Shutdown of commercial establishment

As a continuation to the country’s efforts to reduce gatherings, the MOCI has decided to completely shutdown the following non-essential businesses starting from March 27, including coffeeshops and cafeterias (juice stalls), education support centers, arts and theatre centers, entertainment services, weddings and events planners, shoes and watch stalls.

Other businesses will have to operate only between 6:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Exceptions include: pharmacies, grocery stores, and delivery services.

Visa can be extended by a month

Due to airport closures around the world, affecting return journey of many people in Qatar, all entry visas of those affected will be extended for a month. Extension can be done online, either through the Ministry of Interior's website or through the Metrash smartphone application.

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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