Regional Covid curbs ease ahead of Ramadan

15 March 2022
More restrictions are being relaxed across the Middle East as the holy month approaches

The number of Covid-19 cases in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region reached 19,271,165 on 15 March, according to Worldometers data collated by MEED.

Countries in the GCC account for 19 per cent (3,545,431) of all regional cases, while Iran’s 7,126,906 infections make up 37 per cent of the regional tally.

Since 8 March, 130,787 new cases have been reported in the 17 Mena countries tracked by MEED. The number is 11 per cent higher than the 118,031 new cases added in the week to 8 March.

The biggest change in total case numbers was reported in Jordan, with growth of 2.6 per cent from last week’s 1,638,228 to 1,680,179 on 15 March.

In Tunisia, a 2.4 per cent change was reported, with total case numbers reaching 1,029,596 on 15 March from 1,005,804 on 8 March.

Bahrain recorded 1.9 per cent growth, with total cases at 538,794 as of 15 March. Egypt and Syria recorded overall case growth of 0.71 per cent and 0.57 per cent compared to last week, with total infections in the countries reaching 495,373 and 55,399, respectively.

Flights from regional countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain to India will likely see capacity increases in the coming weeks following the Asian country’s suspension of 'air bubbles' as part of an easing of restrictions on commercial flights.

Curbs to contain the spread of Covid-19 are also being further relaxed in the wider Mena region.

Saudi Arabia
The status of children aged 5-11 on the Tawakkalna app will change to ‘immune’ after they receive their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, local media reported. Children aged 5-11 are being provided Pfizer doses three weeks after they have received the first dose, while those aged over 12 are administered the Moderna vaccine.

Saudi Arabia’s health ministry has also announced it will end the Covid-19 press conferences it has conducted since the start of the pandemic following the lifting of most precautionary and preventive measures to combat Covid-19. Social distancing has been eased, including at the Two Holy Mosques, and wearing masks is no longer mandatory outdoors, but they must continue to be worn indoors.

UAE
Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (Seha) will permanently close its testing centre at City Walk in Dubai. Drive-in services will continue at the Seha centre in Al-Khawaneej.

In Abu Dhabi, students have been allowed to take off their face masks during playtime outdoors as part of wider eases on Covid-19 restrictions in the city. Pupils in year two and above must still wear masks indoors, but they can be removed outdoors during play.

Physical distancing is optional outdoors, school-backed field trips can resume with precautions, in-school event capacity has increased to 90 per cent and buses can run at full capacity.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis & Disaster Management Authority has also announced protocols for the establishment of iftar tents during the holy month of Ramadan.

Prior permits must be secured from Emirates Red Crescent, and the tents must be designed as a canopy open from all sides or be air-conditioned. Visitors must remain at least 1 metre apart, and handshakes must be avoided during greetings. Disposable cutlery is mandatory.

Bahrain
French company Valneva has said it expects to receive a positive recommendation for the conditional approval of its Covid-19 vaccine for adults aged 18-55 years from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in April. Manufacturing has commenced for the vaccine, of which the first shipments are expected to reach Bahrain by the end of March.

Manama signed a deal to purchase 1 million doses of the vaccine in December. Valneva’s VLA2001 vaccine is understood to be the only whole-virus, inactivated, adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine in clinical development in Europe.

Kuwait
The Civil Service Bureau has said all government agencies will resume in-office work at full capacity, with exemptions for remote work to be cancelled. Kuwait has also eased restrictions during Ramadan and praying at mosques will be permitted without physical distancing. The ban imposed on in-person events such as conferences, training courses, weddings and funerals since February has also been lifted.

Oman
The omicron variant of Covid-19 has led to fewer hospitalisations in Oman and caused a 90 per cent lower mortality rate compared to previous strains. Zaid al-Hinai, consultant physician and assistant professor of paediatric infectious diseases at Sultan Qaboos University, attributed the drop in serious infections to vaccine-led immunity.

“Although the number of infections is high, it is on a downward trend and hopefully will dip to lower levels in about four to six weeks,” he told local media.

Qatar
Restrictions introduced to curb Covid-19 are being eased in Qatar, with public transport and venue capacity having been returned to normal. Citizens, residents and visitors who have received both Covid-19 vaccine doses can access all public transport and spaces and closed private venues.

Individuals who have not received or completed their vaccination programme must show the results of a rapid antigen test conducted 24 hours prior to entering indoor areas such as gyms, restaurants, cafes, theme parks, cinemas and venues for weddings, sports and conferences.

Under the eased measures, employees in the public and private sectors must conduct rapid antigen tests approved by the public health ministry on a weekly basis for employees and workers who have not completed their vaccination programme. Wearing masks in indoor places remains mandatory, but is optional outdoors. Physical distancing rules have also been eased in mosques.

Qatar’s health ministry has also extended the validity of immunity received from the Covid-19 booster doses and in individuals who have recovered from Covid-19 to 12 months from the previously approved nine months. The decision is based on clinical evidence and will be periodically reviewed.

Iran
Fully vaccinated individuals will be allowed to travel within Iran during the new year (Nowruz) holidays next week, according to President Ebrahim Raisi. Individuals who have not received a booster dose can travel if they present a negative PCR test, the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control announced last week.

Iran’s Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has also permitted the commencement of first phase human trials for the Iranian mRNA vaccine that is being developed domestically. The Iranian FDA has said more than 600 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines can be produced in the country each year, with more than 20 companies manufacturing jabs in Iran.

Local firm Coviran Barekat inaugurated a vaccine production unit last week that will have the capacity to produce 300-350 million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine each year, which will be prioritised for local use prior to being exported.

Egypt
About 51 per cent of Egypt’s target groups for vaccination have received Covid-19 vaccines to date, according to acting health minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar.

The minister told local media the country plans to vaccinate 70 per cent of the target groups – including individuals aged over 18 years – by the middle of 2022 as the fifth wave of Covid-19 eases locally amid a weakening of the omicron variant. Two locally made vaccines – Egyvacc and Covivacc – are being clinically trialled in Egypt.

Morocco
The US has donated two field hospital systems to help Morocco strengthen its response to Covid-19. Morocco’s health ministry said the first system includes a five-bed intensive care unit and has an estimated value of $960,000, while the second system is a mobile emergency room estimated to be valued at $700,000.

The mobile field hospital’s donation comes after a similar grant of a 30-bed field hospital worth $1.5m to help combat infectious outbreaks in Morocco and forms part of the $20m invested in Morocco’s Covid-19 response by the US.

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