Qatar

DOHA, May 30 (NNN-QNA) – Qatar’s health ministry, on Friday announced 1,993 new infections of the novel coronavirus, increasing the total number of the confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 52,907.

“Some 5,205 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 20,604, while three died, raising the fatalities to 36,” the official Qatar ministry statement, was quoted as saying.

DOHA, May 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Qatar confirmed 12 cases of COVID-19 at a jail as campaign group Human Rights Watch warned other prisoners could be at risk of contracting the disease.

Two inmates were acutely ill but none had succumbed to the respiratory condition, the Government Communications Office said in a statement which denied there was a widespread outbreak among prisoners.

Human Rights Watch had said in a statement that six non-Qatari detainees “described a deterioration in prison conditions” at Doha’s Central Prison.

6 May 2020; MEMO: Qatar’s sovereign fund is borrowing around €7 billion ($7.6 billion) against its stock holdings that will help the world’s top liquefied gas exporter to bolster its cash reserves as energy prices continue to plunge.

The Qatar Investment Authority announced that it is in discussions with banks such as JP Morgan and UBS Group for the margin loan. A deal could rank as one of the biggest ever such transactions in the region, it said.

16 April 2020; MEMO: Scores of unsuspecting migrant workers were expelled by Qatar after being informed that they would undergo examination for the new coronavirus, Amnesty International has found. Doha has denied the allegation.

Qatari police apprehended hundreds of Nepalese men last month and expelled them from the country, according to 20 men interviewed by the rights group. The migrant workers were told that they were going to be tested for COVID-19 and returned to their accommodation afterwards.

30 Mar 2020; MEMO: Qatar Airways will have to seek government support eventually, Chief Executive Akbar al-Baker told Reuters on Sunday, warning that the Middle East carrier could soon run out of the cash needed to continue flying.

Several states have stepped in to help airlines hammered by the coronavirus pandemic that has virtually halted international travel, with the United States offering $58 billion in aid.

30 Mar 2020; MEMO: The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticised a statement issued by Bahrain about Doha’s offer to help Bahraini citizens stranded in a Qatari airport due to the coronavirus pandemic.

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26 (NNN) — Qatar Airways says it has added 10,000 extra seats since Tuesday as part of its efforts to help people get to their home countries amid the COVID-19 scare.

In a statement here today, the airlines said it has been also providing charter services to Europe and the US from Asia, as well as additional flights to Paris, Perth and Dublin from Doha.

23 Mar 2020; MEMO: Qatar will be sending $150 million in aid to the besieged Gaza Strip to support United Nations humanitarian programmes and efforts to help combat the new coronavirus outbreak, the state-run Qatari Committee to Rebuild Gaza announced on Twitter today.

20 Mar 2020; MEMO: Qatar has removed exit visa requirements for an additional segment of its foreign labour force, including some of those working in the oil and gas industry, according to official tweets posted on Friday, Reuters reports.

Qatar in 2018 eliminated exit visas for many foreign migrant workers. But the reform did not apply to domestic workers, government and public institution staff, the oil and gas sector, and workers employed at sea and in agriculture.

17 Mar 2020; MEMO: Qatar has announced sending the first batch of urgent medical aid to Iran to help it contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

A statement issued by the Qatar Fund for Development on Twitter said: “The first package of aid included about six tons of medical equipment and supplies, including surgical masks, sterilisers, and medical disinfectants.”