Qatar Weekly News Review Fri 7th Jan

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

Here’s a recap of Qatar’s big news stories for the week up to Friday 7th January. Brought to you in conjunction with Marhaba, the ultimate guide to Qatar.

Starting with last Saturday when the Lusail Tram began its preview service.
Lusail Tram connects to the Doha Metro through two interchange stations, one at Lusail and one at Legtaifiya. The network includes 4 lines with a total of 25 stations above and below ground. And the preview service will see six stations on the Orange Line come into service. Passengers can use existing travel cards on both the Lusail Tram and the Doha Metro with no additional costs, but passengers must always remember to tap in and tap out using the validator on board the tram to avoid extra charges.

Sunday and the headline is that COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms can safely isolate at home. And there’s a warning that the COVID-19 caseload is likely to go up in the coming weeks. However, there is currently no bed shortage for COVID care, a Hamad Medical Corporation official has said.

Onto Monday and the Qatar Tribune lead with Qatar at the beginning of COVID third wave. 13,000 expired frozen food packets seized. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has seized around 13,000 packets of expired frozen foods that were repackaged with new expiry dates in various regions of Qatar. And Self-driving minibus trial begins in Qatar Foundation campus. Over the next 10 days the level 4 autonomous minibus trial will take place within Qatar Foundation’s Education City.

Tuesday and the Ministry of Interior extends grace period to correct the legal status of expats until March 31st. The earlier deadline was December the 31st. Vaccination centre at Bu Garn all set open on January the 9th. The centre will provide capacity to administer up to 30,000 vaccination doses per day. And 14 health centres provide drive through PCR test services.

Wednesday now and 472 people were referred to prosecution for flouting COVID safety norms. 363 for not wearing a mask, 5 for not downloading the Ehteraz app, and 104 people for not adhering to safe distancing. And there’s growing proof Omicron is causing only milder symptoms says the World Health Organisation. More and more studies point out that Omicron is infecting the upper respiratory tract.

On to yesterday’s news and the Cabinet imposes some COVID curbs. The new measures will come into effect from January the 8th. Masks must be worn in both open and closed public places, children under 12 years old are no longer allowed to enter mosques, bus transport at a maximum of 60%, metro and public transport will operate at 60%, driving schools 50%, theatres and cinemas will continue to operate at 50%, commercial complexes 75% and only people who have completed COVID-19 vaccine doses can enter. Popular markets can operate at 75% capacity but children under the age of 12 years old are not allowed to enter.

The new drive-through COVID testing centre opened in Lusail. The 10 lane drive-through centre will provide PCR tests with capacity to swab up to 5,000 people a day. The centre will be open seven days a week from 8am until 10pm.
And the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has announced that distance learning will continue until January 27th.

Now for this morning’s newspapers, and a World Health Organisation chief has said the more infectious Omicron coronavirus variant, appears to produce less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but it should not be categorised as ‘mild’.

The Ministry of Public Health caps prices for COVID-19 rapid tests kits at 35 riyals and 25 riyals. They have endorsed the use of rapid antigen self-test kits for at home testing. The ministry has explained that while the results of the rapid antigen self-test kits may not be used for official purposes such as pre-travel testing or changes of status on the Ehteraz app, they are a valuable tool for people to check their COVID-19 status at the convenience of their home.