Ministry Announces Decrease in Cases, Overcoming Peak Stage of Pandemic

In a statement from the Director of the Ministry of Public Health, there have been fewer cases in Qatar as well as lesser patients admitted to the hospital. With this development, certain restrictions are carefully being lifted.

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While there are lesser restrictions, the public should still observe health precautions such as wearing a face mask when going out and observing hand hygiene. Everyone is also reminded that should the cases increase; the restrictions will be put back in place.

Follow Health Guidelines

Guidelines to be Followed

A recent press conference from the Ministry of Public Health includes updates regarding Qatar’s progress in containing the pandemic. The takeaways from the director are as follows:

  • There has been a drop in reports of cases and patients admitted to hospitals.
  • The country is slowly overcoming the peak stage of the pandemic, which is a good basis to carefully lift some restrictions.
  • Health officials and other government agencies have come up with new guidelines for the public to follow upon the lifting of restrictions.
  • The public should still observe safety protocols such as maintaining a safe distance from other people, downloading the Ehteraz app, wearing face masks when going out, hand washing or sanitizing often, and ensuring that the vulnerable group remains at home.
  • The Ministry of Public Health came up with precautions to be followed with each lifting of restrictions. These can be found on the website.
  • The Ministry is thankful for the cooperation of the public in ensuring that the safety protocols are observed.
  • In the event that the case of infection will increase, the restrictions will be put in place or the implementation of the next phase will be postponed.

Lockdowns and restrictions were implemented as early as March. These have been effective in controlling the spread of the pandemic. Now, the government has been slowly removing these restrictions.

Here is the tweet from the Ministry of Public Health:

The second phase of easing of restrictions took effect on July 1, 2020. With this second phase, more parks, markets, and souqs have opened. However, children under 12 years old are still not allowed inside malls. Commercial establishments will still close on Fridays and Saturdays.

Restaurants can also accept limited patrons for dine-in at their establishments. Some restaurants advise their clients to call in advance before coming to eat.

Restrictions on work hours are also lifted.  It will now be up to the management to implement their working hours, but will still have to adhere to the health and safety protocols.

The public is still enjoined to adhere to the guidelines and protocols of the health officials. These precautions should still be in place so that everyone will be safe and can return to normal.