With the COVID-19 cases slowly ebbing away, many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have cautiously opened up after several months of curfews and travel restrictions.
Already the GCC nations are recording more recoveries than cases of infection on a daily basis. The recovery rate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is over 85%. The nation has already conducted nearly 46 lakh tests on its inhabitants.
Cautius celebrations
However, the UAE government is cautious about allowing its citizens to celebrate the upcoming Id-Al-Adha holiday next week. The faithful have been asked to perform prayers at home and mosques will be permitted to operate at an increased capacity of 50% from August 3.
Residents have been asked to avoid family gatherings and meetings. The UAE has also announced that a COVID-19 test will be mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers, including Emiratis, residents, and tourists, arriving in the country.
In Saudi Arabia, the land ports of Al-Khafji, Al-Raqai, Al-Batha, and King Fahd Causeway were opened to facilitate the return of citizens and their family members without prior permission from the neighbouring Gulf states from Thursday. The COVID-19 recovery rate in the kingdom is above 80%.
Meanwhile, the Grand Mosque at Makkah will be closed to worshippers on the Arafat Day Id-Al-Adha. In view of the improving pandemic situation in Qatar, its government has allowed 80% of the public and private sector employees to work from offices starting July 28. The recovery rate in Qatar is above 95 %.
Qatar has also launched the Exceptional Entry Permit service to enable residents, who are currently stuck abroad owing to COVID-19, to return to the country. The service is available on the Qatar Portal and applications to get the permit can be submitted from August 1.
In Kuwait, 727 people recovered from the disease even as its Ministry of Health announced 687 new cases on Thursday. The recovery rate in the country is about 84%.
The Bahrain Health Ministry reported 321 new cases along with 439 recoveries on Thursday. Of the new cases, 162 were expatriate workers. The recovery rate in Bahrain is nearly 90%.
Meanwhile, Oman has imposed a complete lockdown of all governorates of the Sultanate from 7 p.m. on Saturday to August 8. Residents of Oman whose visas have expired but planning to return to the country have been asked to renew them online. The COVID-19 recovery rate in Oman is 66%.
