According to the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), 16 people have been arrested by the authorities last Sunday for violating home quarantine requirements in light of the health crisis. The government of Qatar has used law enforcement measures to ensure prevention of further spreading of the disease.
The Ministry also provided the list of names of the violators. All of them are Qatari citizens. In light of this update, the authorities reiterated the necessity of home quarantine. Residents should strictly follow home quarantine so that no new infections will arise. The Ministry added that whoever will violate the law will face penalties specified in Article 253 of the Penal Code No. 11 of 2004. The provisions of two other laws will also be in effect. These are those of Law No. 17 of 1990 for the prevention of infectious diseases and the Law No. 17 of 2002 for community protection.
16 Arrested as Qatar Law Strictly Enforces Home Quarantine
The following is a tweet from the Qatar News Agency regarding the arrest, explaining that the persons will be prosecuted for their actions:
MOPH announces that the competent authorities have arrested 16 people who violated the requirements of domestic isolation, explaining that the violating persons are being referred to the competent prosecution #QNA
— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) March 29, 2020
These rigid measures are placed out of necessity as the number of cases in Qatar continue to add up. In fact, in the last 24 hours, 44 new cases have been added, bringing the total to 634. A total of 18,877 people have been tested for the disease so far. Out of the positive cases, 48 have recovered, and one passed away. More details can be obtained through the Ministry of Public Health website, and the following infographic from the Ministry shows the latest numbers:
آخر مستجدات فيروس كورونا في قطر
Latest update on Coronavirus in Qatar#سلامتك_هي_سلامتي #YourSafetyIsMySafety pic.twitter.com/JWMhIZsqJ1
— وزارة الصحة العامة (@MOPHQatar) March 29, 2020
The government has also made it easier for residents to stay at home through various initiatives. For one, the Primary Health Care Corporation has set up a Medication Home Delivery Service, which will allow residents to obtain the medicines they need without leaving their homes. Contacting the delivery service is done through WhatsApp numbers, and is available from Sunday to Thursday at the following times: 8 AM to 2 PM and 4 PM to 10 PM.
The following tweet shows the WhatsApp numbers that residents can contact to avail of the Medication Home Delivery Service:
Following the current development of the (COVD-19) and in the interest of public health, Primary Healthcare Corporation started Medication delivery service in health Center.#stay_at_home#YourSafetyIsMySafety pic.twitter.com/7DlD9BfGsX
— مؤسسة الرعاية الصحية الأولية (@PHCCqatar) March 29, 2020
Qatar continues to make strategic measures to stop the outbreak. It has already prompted non-essential businesses to shut down, enacted laws to ban group gatherings, closed down remittance centers, and encouraged residents to use apps in place of personal presence to minimize person-to-person contact.
Most of the measures made by Qatar are done to further promote social distancing. The public is urged to follow these restrictions. Residents should see this as an obligation for the welfare of the general public, and as this recent news shows, the government will arrest violators.