Gulf monarchies and the coronavirus

Text by: Nicolas Keraudren Follow

Over 130,000 Covid-19 positive cases have been identified by the authorities of the six Arab monarchies united in a regional cooperation organization. However, the fatality rate linked to the disease remains very low. Thanks, in particular, to an early strategy focused on screening.

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From our correspondent in Dubai,

In the Gulf, the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was reported by the authorities of the United Arab Emirates on January 29, 2020. A 73-year-old woman from Wuhan, China was diagnosed with coronavirus in this crossroads country of world trade.

Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, then Saudi Arabia then successively announced their first cases a month later. According to the authorities, these zero patients have all traveled to Iran - the main source of the disease in the Middle East - before returning to their country.

►Read also: Coronavirus: the six Arab Gulf States are also affected

Faced with the spread of the virus, the six monarchies united in the Gulf Cooperation Council and with similar political, economic and demographic characteristics, provided an immediate response.

Immediate response

As soon as the first positive cases were announced, the Gulf States first adopted preventive measures such as the closure of schools in the United Arab Emirates on March 8. The monarchies then gradually barricaded themselves. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were the first to do so with the suspension of all international flights starting in mid-March.

Then, a more or less strict confinement of the population was implemented at the end of March. In the United Arab Emirates, a "national disinfection program" of public spaces prevented residents of the federation of seven micro-states from moving freely at night at first. This confinement became total from April 4.

To impose compliance with these measures on their residents, the Gulf countries have imposed heavy sanctions. In Kuwait, anyone who breaks the curfew is, for example, sentenced to up to three years in prison and fined 10,000 Kuwaiti dinars, or around 30,000 euros.

It was with the approach of the holy month of Ramadan on April 24 that containment measures were gradually relaxed. Even if the places of worship remain closed to the general public in all the countries of the Gulf, the shopping centers have meanwhile reopened like the famous Dubai Mall of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE authorities have also imposed a fine of 1,000 dirhams - about 250 euros - if the protective mask required in public spaces is not worn correctly (if it does not cover the nose and mouth, Editor's note ). In Qatar, fines for not wearing a mask amount to 51,000 euros and offenders risk up to 3 years in prison.

Because in the Gulf, the number of new Covid-19 positive cases recorded daily is constantly increasing. In total, more than 130,000 cases have been identified in this region of the world. Saudi Arabia, where the population is the largest, is the first source of contamination with more than 50,000 positive cases and also more than 300 deaths linked to the disease.

Very low case fatality rate

However, the case fatality rate - that is, the proportion of illness-related deaths out of the total number of cases affected - remains very low in the region. This is indeed less than 1%. Qatar, which has registered more than 30,000 positive cases, counts for example less than 20 deaths linked to the disease. The kingdom of Bahrain deplores 12 deaths out of a total of around 7,000 contaminations.

According to Doctor Amgad ElKholy, in charge of the prevention of the infectious risk for the World Health Organization (WHO), the member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council "  have strengthened their capacities in response to MERS-CoV  ", the coronavirus Middle East respiratory syndrome. This disease, which appeared in 2012 in Saudi Arabia and which is transmitted from animals - camels and dromedaries - to humans, would indeed have enabled the health systems of the Gulf States to improve their expertise in "  identifying cases, care in hospitals and also prevention  ”.

One of the major elements of the strategy of the Gulf countries was, moreover, the screening for Covid-19. The United Arab Emirates, for example, has conducted more than one million tests on a total population of around nine million. "  We must test, trace and act as quickly as possible to detect the virus,  " said the spokeswoman for the UAE government on April 26.

Immigrant workers in the eye of the storm

Immigrant workers, who often live in overcrowded housing conducive to the rapid spread of the disease, were able to benefit from some of the screening. But despite this strategy, millions of immigrant workers are suffering from the consequences of the epidemic.

The NGO Amnesty International has also repeatedly pinpointed the Gulf countries since the start of the health crisis. "  The Gulf States must ensure that immigrant workers are not further marginalized,  " asked the NGO. Amnesty International also launched a campaign on April 30 to demand that governments and employers respect "  migrant workers' access to health care, adequate housing, social security and fair working conditions  ".

In this context, India - a major supplier of cheap labor - launched on May 7 a vast operation to repatriate its nationals stranded in the Gulf. In just a few days, more than 400,000 Indian citizens registered on a dedicated online platform. In the United Arab Emirates, almost a third of the 200,000 registrants said they had lost their jobs.

An uncertain future

This workforce, essential to the economies of the Gulf countries, suffered from containment measures that led to an inevitable slowdown in economic activity.

Even though these countries are trying to coordinate their action in the Gulf Cooperation Council by adopting numerous financial measures to mitigate the repercussions, not all States are on an equal footing.

The fragile economy of the Sultanate of Oman, for example, is far less armed than that of its neighbors. Because the country has already faced a critical financial situation since 2014. It is therefore the first major challenge for the new sultan Haitham ben Tarek al-Said who succeeded his cousin on January 11, 2020. Bahrain should also s 'get out more difficult than its neighbors. Manama has nevertheless adopted a variety of measures to support its economy.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar are certainly in a more favorable financial situation. But again, the future is uncertain.

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• Coronavirus: the response, country by country
• Coronavirus
• Confinement
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Kuwait
• Bahrain
• Oman

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