Normal life in Qatar began gradually returning to its former era, as it approached the entry of the third and penultimate stage within the procedures for the gradual lifting of the restrictions imposed by the Corona pandemic (Covid-19), among them the easing of the policy of travel and return to the State of Qatar, as of August 1 / Next August, based on public health indicators locally and internationally.

These measures were accompanied by the amendment of the Cabinet’s decision regarding reducing the number of employees in the governmental and private sectors at workplaces, to increase the percentage to 80% of the total number of employees, while the remaining percentage will start its work remotely.

The decrease in the number of Coronavirus infections, the increase in the number of recoverers and the decrease in deaths, contributed to stimulating the plan developed by the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management during the first week of last June, in order to gradually open the various facilities and service institutions and pump blood into the commercial movement that suffered from the closure throughout Months.

Smart Helmets is one of the new technologies adopted by Hamad International Airport to monitor the health of travelers (Al-Jazeera).

Low-risk countries

Last Tuesday, the government contact office announced that the travel and return policy for Qatar would be modified from the low-risk countries, which include 40 countries from East Asia, including China, and a number of European countries that have greatly surrounded the spread of the Corona virus, and only two Arab countries, Morocco and Algeria.

This decision was accompanied by a review of the quarantine policy for those coming from these countries, where they will be subjected to a examination of the detection of the Corona virus upon their arrival at Hamad International Airport, with the signing of a formal commitment to adhere to the home quarantine for a week, where the person's condition in the application of "Ahtaz" will remain in yellow, that is, It is subject to quarantine, to be changed to green - which means free from the virus - after re-examination at one of the accredited health centers as soon as a full week has passed after returning to Qatar.

This decision would allow the return of stranded residents outside Qatar starting from the first of August next, as the entry mechanism for residents will be organized based on a series of priorities, including public health indicators, the nature of needs in the various government and semi-government sectors and humanitarian cases.

Periodic review

With the end of every two weeks, this list will be reviewed, and in the event that there are Covid-19 accredited testing centers in one of these countries, obtaining a virus-free certificate from one of these centers will exempt the person from the examination at the airport upon arrival in the country, provided that it does not exceed 48 An hour before travel, while keeping the quarantine procedures for a week.

Regarding Qatari citizens and holders of permanent residence, they can travel outside Qatar and return at any time, while adhering to all procedures, and according to the countries coming from it.

The legal expert Rashid Al Saad believes that the procedures related to reopening flights to returnees and travelers from Qatar came in line with the plan set by the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management, which is a prelude to entering the third stage of the stages of the gradual opening of various facilities in the State of Qatar, and return to normal life.

He stated in a statement to Al-Jazeera Net that this step "would enhance the constitutional rights in the State of Qatar, especially those related to freedom of movement, which were suspended as an exception due to the challenges imposed by the Corona pandemic on the lives of citizens and residents, and that necessitated great efforts by the various parties in order to Surrounding the pandemic, and reducing its effects, due to the support of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to the private sector and the announcement of financial packages and facilities.

Qatar Airways flies to several destinations around the world after the retreat of Corona virus (Al-Jazeera)

Despite the procedures for the gradual opening and allowing travel abroad in conjunction with the summer, a cautious fear reflected by social media from traveling abroad, due to the fear of a second wave of global closures caused by the Corona virus, which has put great pressure on tourism facilities in Qatar, And increase the prices of hotel and resort reservations significantly.

With the coming of the third phase of the gradual opening stages in Qatar beginning in early August, it is expected that government institutions, private sector companies and all commercial activities will return to work at full capacity and with all their employees, and the rest of the mosques will open and tourism facilities will return to their normal occupancy levels. The fourth and final stage begins in early September, and includes a return to life as it was before the imposition of precautionary measures to combat the epidemic.

Strict procedures

And Hamad International Airport in Doha has started applying technology that can enhance the safety of travelers and employees, using robots and smart helmets to conduct a thermal examination, and the use of the latest advanced technology, which was applied to achieve the highest safety standards on the travel experience in the future.

In addition to conducting thermal inspection and sterilization for employees and travelers, smart helmets will be used for thermal examination, allowing passengers to be examined on the go. These helmets employ many advanced technologies, such as infrared thermal imaging, artificial intelligence and augmented reality screen, and they can also enable the implementation of scenarios for use control over a mobile phone.