Desert Shaikh

Full 24 Hour 5 Day Lockdown in Saudi from 23rd to 27th May (Eid Vacation Period)

Standanista

https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/ar...eople-in-a-car

Not much change in Qatar till end of May. Contact tracing app mandatory from Friday though.

martinbkk

Have they shut down the construction sites yet?
Looking at the global coronavirus statistics

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Qatar seems oddly placed particularly when sorted on the number of cases per 1 million population. Relatively speaking its almost the worst in the world after San Marino and Vatican City whose position should perhaps not be so surprising, but Qatar third! It's not even as if they are testing massively more than others either though certainly relatively high
It seems there is either some bad/wrong/distorted data or...? Perhaps they simply have not taken the steps necessary and I have heard that bus loads of construction workers were still to be seen on the roads still full to the last seat and construction sites working as before. Is that really the case?

scrubbedexpat141

Think we've got lucky in comparison to KSA when you look at the 'freedom to go about your business meter'.
We're getting more and more bottom-rogered by the numbers on a daily basis though - new cases just keep jumping like the fines.

Either the app will become mandatory or the lockdown will come back I reckon.

Millhouse

It's quite interesting really - they just simply haven't been able to push the numbers down. I find the level of non-compliance amazing - even in the UK/US where people have freedoms and much lower levels of fear of the government there seems to be more compliance.

I think government policy has been excellent here - it's the people.

I know of 12 people with covid - all mostly mild, some worse than others - mostly reporting headaches and a bit of a cough... all met for an iftar after work. 7 of the 12 all live in the same (small) house, 4 kids, maid and the parents all sick. rough.

csdf

You're surprised by non-compliance? In a region where "if it benefits me, then who cares if it hurts someone else" is the default attitude (as seen daily on the roads). It certainly didn't help that they eased measures way before there was any sign of a reduction in net cases. Even I, Mr Paranoid, felt a "relaxation" which I knew was completely illusory when they reduced the lockdown.

Maxima

There is very likely another reason in Saudi for a full lockdown during Eid - the sentiment among many in the local populace isn't actually positive because of the jump in taxes and multi family or tribal gatherings are a huge source of individuals grudges simmering and morphing into a collective grudge.
The main source of anger there is why they are the only one out of the 6 neighbors to have to take such drastic measures

Millhouse

For sure there was a relaxation, it was quite amazing to see - and oddly the longer it when on, the more people were getting more relaxed.

I'm surprised by the non-compliance as for the most part, expats are pretty compliant on all other things given the constant fear of deportation / losing jobs / visas etc.

csdf

But presumably these expats are still from the "if god wills it, then who am I to take personal action, particularly if it's a bit of a bother" region?

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah, I think the last month has been poor with people just not paying any attention to it. If we'd been locked down longer it might have been more sustainable and a better path to reopening. We're now just continuing this fairly relaxed lockdown and increasing the fines. I haven't seen a copper on my morning walk/jogs yet though.

csdf

Unless they get a handle on it, they're going to find that European (and possibly other) countries are going to put an embargo on tourists visiting here. Not such a problem now, but it will become a major issue in the autumn.

Pongo

Lots of ‘staycations’ being advertised, presumably guests will now have to be confined to the room between 8pm-6am...sounds fantastic.

Standanista

Yes and no. Construction sites are still open and Ashok Leyland Executive/Tata Limo are still running services, but bus loading is being strictly enforced at 50% capacity with socially-distant seating. What the guys do on site and in the camps is a different matter of course, and hence the number of cases. Also, Qatar is doing a lot of testing. The Industrial Area was on full lockdown for weeks and they've been testing there massively. It is a precondition to being allowed out. They've also been setting up roadside random testing stations and flagging down drivers for a swab, so Qatar's data will be better than most.

A trickle of expats are now being let back in to Doha, depending on how critical they are to business continuity on national projects. A couple of our client's guys who got caught stuck on the outside have been given the nod. At the same time, their organisation culled a lot of staff in-country this week, so there's definitely a focus on who's needed and who can be chopped. I'm still working remotely from the UK till I can get back in (or get the bullet), which is probably the best of both worlds as long as HMRC give us 60 days extra due to "exceptional circumstances". I suspect that folk will continue to be brought back gradually for now rather than a general reopening of the border. How soon depends on how important they are to the organisation and wider national interest. It's ripe for a spread bet and there could be a bit of face lost for some: how many places in the queue in front of or behind Bilal from IT?

I hear from a couple of inside sources that hotel bars and restaurants in Doha will be reopening mid-June.

sarahlou davis

Nope, hotel pools in Dubai are closed ( Open in Ajman and Rak) however you can use the beach at the staycation places

sarahlou davis

Regarding random testing, once they are tested do they let them go on their merry way before they get their results? I often wondered about this as they could get infected whilst waiting on results