*Qatar announces new decisions to stop spread of Covid-19
*Street 1 to 32 in the Industrial Area shut down for 14 days
Qatar yesterday announced a set of new decisions to complement the preventive and precautionary measures implemented earlier to limit the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19).
Among the new steps are: First: Closing part of the Industrial Area starting from Street No. 1 to Street No. 32, for two weeks, which can be renewed. This followed finding a number of cases and is in the interest of the residents who have to be quarantined for continued examination procedures, and to prevent the virus spread to other areas, HE the Spokesperson of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, Lolwah bint Rashid bin Mohamed AlKhater, said.
At a press conference HE AlKhater said the move will not affect the daily needs of the residents of this area, as co-ordination has been done with the companies concerned to provide the daily needs of their workers and pay their salaries on the usual dates. In addition, co-ordination between the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour, Social Affairs and Qatar Charity will provide more support such as masks, sterilisers, and other needs.
She pointed out that the authorities concerned such as the Ministry of Municipality and Environment, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs and the Ministry of Public Health are working to ensure the continuity of work, in a way that does not affect vital projects.
Second: Closing retail stores and bank branches in the commercial complexes and shopping centres, with the exception of shops and food outlets and pharmacies.
Third: Closing shops and all activities of men and women salons, until further notice, and stopping the home services provided by some of these salons.
Fourth: Stopping the activities of health clubs in hotels, according to the circulars issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, until further notice.
HE AlKhater also affirmed that citizens entering Qatar from any destination in the world will be quarantined upon arrival for a period of 14 days, as this decision followed the discovery of three cases of Qataris coming from the United Kingdom, Spain and Switzerland.
She said all Qataris can return to their homeland when they want.
Three new cases of Covid-19 have been reported, she said.
Two of them are from the same group in the quarantine, and the third one works as a driver in a house. All the infected are in a good and stable condition.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, the three new cases take the total number of positive cases to 442 in the country. Also, a total of 8,547 people have been tested so far for Covid-19 in Qatar. Four people have recovered until now.
HE AlKhater reaffirmed the importance of not leaving the house except for unavoidable needs and maintaining appropriate distance from others.
She also called on everyone to avoid social gatherings during the next two weeks, a period that is considered very crucial, noting the role of individuals and families in spreading awareness.
Thanking the residents, both citizens and expatriates for their support, she said the people who withstood the crisis in 2017 and surpassed it steadily will also overcome this crisis, by cohesion and unity.
"Qatar has followed the principle of transparency with the local and international communities since the beginning of this crisis, by announcing all cases, their numbers and health conditions, and announced all the measures taken to limit the spread of the epidemic.
"Qatar will do its utmost to limit the spread of the virus and take all the necessary required decisions, pointing out that this effort requires the solidarity of all individuals, institutions and sectors."
HE AlKhater said the decisions may be subject to other updates based on the situation in the interest of the society. "My safety is your safety, and your safety is my safety."