Qatar Coronavirus Update -- Daily Cases Dramatically Climbing

As for the coronavirus unfortunately the number of cases in Qatar is growing rapidly. Yesterday saw a record 392 cases but today smashed that at 560 cases! The total number of cases in the country is now 4,663, which is about 1,665 per million people, similar to the UK. The Government has been testing people who were close to or in contact with known cases so I suspect that most of the cases are in worker dormitories and other crowded housing where the virus could spread easily. The Government has reiterated that everyone should stay home as much as possible.

I'm on Day 29 of staying home. The trend in cases is quite worrying so it looks like I'll be sitting in my apartment for a lot longer. I still have plenty of food (I underestimated just how much I stocked up on since January, I figured I had 3-4 weeks of food but it turned out to be more). I'm starting to run low on some key things yet every time I decided that I will go out to the grocery store in the next couple of days the case count grows so I get nervous and put it off. I can hold out another week or so but after that I will need to stock up on some essentials. Better to wait as long as possible, the longer people wait the greater the chance that treatments will be develop that can help lessen the symptoms and thus give you a better chance if you do become ill. Treatments using blood plasma with antibodies in it looks promising and I know that Qatar is trying that out in hospitals here. I also read some articles today that said an anti-viral drug called remdesivir is showing promising results in initial studies on people, and numerous other drugs are also being tested around the world. So the longer people wait before risking getting the virus the better the chance of surviving it if they do catch it.

Stay home everyone.


Today's distraction: on Youtube look up 'epicurious price points'. This is a set of videos where an expert is given samples of things they specialize in and they have to guess which one is more expensive. The expert explains their analysis and how they concluded which was more expensive and it was actually very informative. They have videos for things like cheese, coffee, chocolate, meats, wine, tea, ice cream and so forth. Give it a watch if you have time on your hands, it will help you be able to tell the difference between good and lower quality products.

Qatar Coronavirus Update -- Holding Steady but Daily Cases Still High

The number of cases in Qatar continues to hold steady at around 200 to 250 a day. Today was 197 cases, for a total of 3428. At least no one else passed away, so far the death toll is at seven.

Because of all the focus on the high impact areas such as Italy, Spain or the US, less-impacted countries don't get much mention in the news. Qatar has a lot of cases for its size though. For comparison in the Province of British Columbia (where I'm originally from) they are now averaging around 20 to 25 cases a day and currently have a total of about 1500 cases. That is for a population of 5 million right next door to the US. Qatar has a population of 2.8 million.

Most of the new cases are from the Government's effort to trace and test all contacts of the existing cases. I'm hoping that in time the number of cases from Qataris that arrived in the country recently will slow, now that the Government is mandating quarantine for all arrivals. A Qatari friend's brother just got out of two-week quarantine at a hotel, he had flown in from the UK. He was fine and did not have the virus but many arriving from abroad did.

Other good news is that the number of people recovering every day is going up, now it's around 30-40 a day. Qatar still has a way to go before the recoveries are in line with the number of new cases. I expect recoveries will actually slow down over the next week because after an initial wave of cases (around 300-400) Qatar went through a stage where they were only getting 5-15 new cases a day. Recoveries will pick up again when this 'second big wave' of cases starts to recover, but that will take time.

It looks like I'll be locked down for some time yet, which is annoying. I've been in my apartment for 25 days now but I will need to go out soon to top-up the groceries, unfortunately with this wave of cases I'm going to hold out as long as I can and hopefully the daily cases will start to decrease.

I wish I could say I am doing exciting things while under lockdown but it's pretty monotonous. I work from home so at least that keeps me busy, otherwise it's internet and reading mostly, and using YouTube videos for exercise. Since you are probably in lockdown as well I'll start sharing one website or video series I watched every time I post. Today I recommend going to YouTube and looking up "Sister Wendy's Odyssey", a nun who visits museums and analyzes key pieces of art. It was a hit BBC series and it is actually quite good, she's a great speaker.

I would like to wander out and take photos of a quiet Qatar but I'm not risking it. Even the Ministry of Public Health's (moph.gov.qa) coronavirus tip of the day was, "Stay at home and do not allow visitors." Ummm, okay. Got it.

Qatar Coronavirus Update -- Cases Reducing After a Spike

After a number of days at 200+ cases per day things have started to slow down. The last three days saw around 150 cases a day, today was 136. If the trend continues things will settle down again. Unfortunately Qatar still has had 2,512 cases, which means around 897 cases per million people (US is at 1,437 per million, UK at 1,045 and Canada at 585).

To date only six people have died, which is good. However most of Qatar's cases are fairly new and patients tend to be in the hospital a long time. If the mortality data I've been seeing is correct then Qatar's generally young population would mean a mortality rate of, let's average it to 0.5-0.7%. At the current number of cases that would mean 12-18 deaths so I expect more unfortunate announcements by the Ministry in the coming week.

Qatar is not in a total lockdown yet though many people are expecting it will be coming. All non-essential businesses had to close for the weekend so only grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants (curbside delivery, no eating in) are operating. So it is almost a lockdown this weekend. There are a number of patrols on highways and through neighborhoods to ensure people are staying home and only doing essential travel.

Qatar has also cracked down on Qataris entering the country, now most (maybe all?) have to enter mandatory quarantine for two weeks -- none of this self-quarantine anymore, too many Qataris were ignoring it. Many of the cases are from people in quarantine.


Stay home everyone!

Qatar Coronavirus Update -- the Surge Begins

Yesterday Qatar recorded 250 cases of the virus, the highest daily total yet. Until today, when 279 new cases appeared!

Qatar now has 1,604 cases of coronavirus, a caseload of 573 per million people. By contrast (data is from the John Hopkins dashboard):

USA: 991 per million
Canada: 408
UK: 714
Spain: 2,783
Italy: 2,138
South Korea: 198

Also sadly another person died, an 88-year-old Qatari man. This brings the total dead to four.

Some of the increase in cases is due to Qatar getting larger testing capability. Now they are processing 3,500 to 4,000 tests a day, which is fantastic, and even further expansion is planned. On a per capita basis it's comparable to many Western countries (1,300 to 1,480 tests per million people per day).

Still it is a bit frightening, it looks like Qatar is now entering a period where a huge number of cases are going to appear and possibly swamp the health system. As many of the cases are due to Qataris returning from abroad and not quarantining themselves the virus is likely spreading through the Qatari population. Less than 20 people recovered today so things won't get better until the number of recoveries is greater than new cases.

I'm fine, I have been home for over two weeks now. I was planning to do a grocery top-up next weekend but now I highly doubt I will. I'm definitely staying home until this 'wave' passes.

Qatar Coronavirus Update - A Breakdown of the Cases in Qatar

The number of cases increased by 126 today, for a total of 1075 cases. Thankfully no one died today, and 21 more people recovered.

The Government recently released further information about all the cases. They noted that most of this 'second wave' was due to Qataris returning from abroad and not adhering to the self-quarantine, thus infecting their families and others.

The breakdown of cases does seem to tie in with what I expected -- most of the people who catch the virus are reasonably young due to the large expat workforce here. 56% of the cases are people under the age of 45, 18% are 45-55, 10% are 55-64, and only 3% are over the age of 65. This is why despite over 1000 cases only 37 people are in intensive care. It is also likely the main reason why the number of deaths is so low, so far only three have died: two in their late 50s and one in their 80s. All apparently had preexisting medical conditions.

If this trend continues Qatar is in good shape in terms of having adequate medical facilities available. Only 3.7% of cases are currently in ICU so to overrun Qatar's current capabilities there would need to be, I'm guessing, around 15,000+ active cases in the country. As long as people keep 'flattening the curve' that won't happen. And don't forget Qatar will also have over 18,000 hospital beds ready in the next few weeks on top of at least four hospitals dedicated to Coronavirus patients.

Stay home everyone if you can.

Qatar Coronavirus Update - Growing Caseload, Further Preparations by the Government

Two days ago the number of cases increased by 88, the second greatest number of daily new cases in Qatar (until today). Yesterday was 54 cases and today was 114 cases. In total Qatar has 949 cases. Sadly two more people died.

This is likely further causing strain on health resources, only 72 have recovered so while we have all these cases only about 10 people a day are recovering, which means more people who potentially need medical care. The Government has converted another clinic into a covid-19 only center.

But the new cases might not be as alarming as at first glance. The Government also announced they are now able to significantly increase the number of tests being done per day. Some days it's at around 2300 tests. This is another reason why the number of cases has increased, because the Government was able to expand testing.

Qatar is not at a complete lockdown and many businesses, as well as offices, can be open. The Government has now mandated that even in the private sector only 20% of employees can work at the place of business, at least 80% must work from home or not show up for work. To help enforce this the Government has also mandated operating/working hours for all businesses: 7am to 1pm. I suspect that is so the authorities can determine if a business is violating the rules. If you work from home though then the regular hours can apply, probably a way for the Government to incentivize businesses to make staff work from home.

Still more Qataris getting arrested for violating self-quarantine. A lot of Qataris returned from abroad recently and were mandated to self-quarantine but many continue to ignore it. Given many Qataris don't listen apparently the Government announced that Qataris are no longer allowed to leave the country. "Apparently" because some Qataris told me about it on social media but I did an English language Google news search and don't see anything about it. Not that there would be a reason for the Government to announce it in English.

Looks like Qatar is getting a wave of cases now. Stay home everyone!

Qatar Coronavirus Updates - Cases Per Day are Increasing

In the past the new cases each day were around 7-13 but two days ago it was 28, a worrying sign. Well yesterday has 44 new cases and they just announced today another 59 cases. Qatar now has 693 cases of covid-19. Looks like things are ramping up and a wave of cases are about to appear. Recoveries are still slow, just 3 today (and 51 total), which means many people have had the virus for at least 19 days. No new deaths though thankfully.

The Ministry says most of the new cases are from Qataris returning from abroad, especially the UK, and from people who were in contact with the returnees. Looks like people still don't understand what "self-quarantine" is, it means distance yourself from family members as well. And the Government continues to arrest Qataris who violate self-quarantine, 16 were arrested. It's good that the Government is arresting people.

I just don't get it -- why aren't people understanding the importance of this? Stay home! Isolate yourself if you are supposed to self-quarantine.

I'm on 11 days of not leaving the apartment, except to throw the trash out, and while I planned to do some grocery shopping next week it can wait if need be, I will still have supplies (though in a couple of weeks I might have to rely on multi-vitamins for some nutritional needs).

Stay safe everyone.

Qatar Coronavirus Updates - First Death in the Country

Unfortunately the Ministry announced the first death in Qatar due to covid-19, a 57-year old man with pre-existing medical issues. He had been in hospital for 12 days before finally succumbing.

Yesterday the number of new cases was 13, and today it was 28, which was a bit unnerving. 28 is the most new cases in a day for almost two weeks. Hopefully this won't be the start of a ramp-up of cases and we'll be seeing dozens every day. The Ministry said that while some of them were Qataris who had recently arrived from abroad some of the cases were "from contacts" which I assume means community transfer. We'll see if this starts to increase. Stay Home People! Qatar continues to arrest people who violate self-quarantine as well, which is a good thing.

Another thing people might not realize about covid-19 is that you can make you sick for a very long time. To date Qatar has reported that 45 people have recovered from the disease, yet on March 11th they found 238 new cases of the virus for a total of 262 cases. That means that most of them have not recovered yet -- 17 days later. That's been one of the most troubling parts so far, while the number of new cases has been going up by anywhere from 7 to 28, the number of people recovering each day only goes up by 2 to 4, which means those new cases add more strain on the health system (if they need hospitalization, hopefully most don't). This is why health systems in Europe are getting overwhelmed, every day there's hundreds or thousands of new cases but people spend so long in the hospital the hospitals becomes stretched to the limit in a few days because no one is discharged. I am hoping that over the next few days we will see a big increase in the number of people recovering from the illness as that group of 262 cases starts to recover.

If friends and family tell you that covid-19 is "not a big deal" let them know that the virus has a wide range of outcomes, it's not just either "you're fine" or "you're dead", they could spend weeks in the hospital with a respirator.

Stay home everyone if you can, and wash your hands.

Qatar Coronavirus Update -- Holding Steady but Preparing for the Worst

Today the Ministry announced another 12 cases, bringing the total to 549.

The curve for Qatar is still pretty flat: I couldn't find all of the past data but here is the number of cases since the 12th:

March 12th 238, then 58, 17, 64, <40, <25, <10, <10, <10, 11, 13, 7, 25, 11, 12 (March 26) so for the last week it is typically around 10-12 new cases a day. But the Government is not resting on its laurels, they are taking this very seriously and preparing for the worst. Yesterday ten more Qataris were arrested for violating self-quarantine, and the Government has banned all social gatherings, including hosting people at a majlis. Friends have told me that police are roaming Qatari neighborhoods looking for cars parked in front of majlises. One of my friends told me that in his neighbourhood someone was 'busted' for hosting people at his majlis and was given a QAR 5000 fine (US$ 1,370). Stay home people! Despite the low number of new cases preparations are underway for new hospital capacity. Aside from the hospital dedicated to coronavirus that the government announced over a week ago, a field hospital was built in Al Khor, and a private hospital has been taken over by the Government to enhance the number of beds and equipment if needed. The most surprising announcement was the Government converting an entire compound into a hospital. It'll be ready shortly and will have capacity for 18,000 beds! 18,000 beds is some serious expansion. (And based on the photo in the article the Minister and the people with him should be standing further apart, just saying.)

That is serious preparation though. I searched the internet for the median age in Qatar and kept seeing numbers in the 32 & 33 range. That's fairly young, EU countries tend to have a median age of 40 or more. Also because most of the population are temporary expats there would be a 'bulge' of people around the 20-40 age range, it would be a lot greater than in Western countries, so there would not be a lot of elderly people by comparison. In fact the Government enacted rules a few years ago that Government offices cannot have expat workers over the age of 60 without getting special permission. So the population of Qatar is fairly young.

If we assume that 50% of infected people don't show symptoms, and about 20% of infected require hospitalization (I actually assume the percentage for Qatar would be even less given the relatively young age of the population but we'll go with 20%) then to fill 18,000 beds would require there to be 90,000 cases. That's more than Italy has right now and it has 60 million people, Qatar only has 2.7 million. For comparison that would be the equivalent of the United States having 11 MILLION cases of Covid-19, or the UK having 2.2 million cases. And the 18,000 beds Qatar is preparing does not include the three other hospitals being used or prepared for Coronavirus patients.

Already having one dedicated hospital for coronavirus has helped other hospitals immensely. A Qatari friend of mine had to take his father to the hospital recently for a non-flu issue and he told me the hospital had almost no patients waiting! Since non-elective surgeries have been cancelled, and most doctor consultations are now done over the phone to minimize people with appointments going to the hospital, there were no crowds in the hospitals at all. He also told me the hospital was extremely clean and he saw workers even washing the walls with alcohol.

And where are the cleaning products coming from? Qatar has a factory for that so it doesn't need to rely on imports. I'm not sure if the factory could produce enough for everyone at the same time but you can be sure if the caseload rises the Government will prioritize hospitals for the cleaning products.

Hopefully that hospital compound will never need to be used, but Qatar is preparing for things to get "Italy-level" bad. It won't if everyone just stays home and stops being reckless.

Qatar Coronavirus Updates -- Slight Rise in Cases Each Day

Over the last three days the number of Coronavirus cases in Qatar has been growing slowly -- 11 one day, then 13, and today 7. The total number of cases is 501, and 37 have recovered. No deaths.

The Ministry of Health has been saying that the new cases relate to Qataris and expats who had returned to Qatar over the last while and who were in self-isolation or quarantine. That means Qatar has had three waves:

1 - initial wave of people who had visited Iran

2 - a cluster where some people at a compound tested positive so the Government cordoned off the area and tested everybody. From that they discovered around 300+ cases. I assume that compound is in the Industrial Area because the whole neighborhood was put under lockdown with restricted access both in and out. There was some criticism from a human rights group that it turned the neighbourhood essentially into a prison but that criticism was before other countries started heavy lockdowns and curfews. I bet Italy wishes it had done heavier lockdowns sooner. And what Qatar did seemed to have worked because the current cases are:

3 - Qataris and some expats who had returned to the country recently from abroad and were self-isolating.


If you look at the pattern of cases in other countries it tended to grow exponentially, by that basis Qatar should have thousands of cases now yet they don't. It appears the quick action by the Government to clamp down is working. Here's hoping it continues to work.

And if you are made to self-isolate the Government means it, you have to sign a paper promising you will not break quarantine. Yes, even Qataris. Do they listen? No, of course not, many broke their self-isolation. They weren't counting on being arrested though -- the Government is not fooling around with this. Every day in the paper now the Government reports how many were arrested for violating the Government's order and their names are published in the papers. Yep, Qatar 'names & shames' the offenders. To date 33 Qataris have been arrested. Hopefully everyone will start getting the message.

Nearly everything is closed: non-essential shops, parks, mosques, the Corniche, museums, public transit and so on. Mandatory work-from-home orders, bans on non-Qataris entering the country, the only thing missing is a curfew. Given the low number of daily cases they might not need to do that.


I've been tempted to wander around outside and take photos of empty places where people once gathered, like Souq Waqif, but nope I'm not going to do it. I'm staying home.

Qatar Coronavirus Updates -- Cases Slowly Growing, Most People Staying Home

Cases in the country are now at 460. It's a slow increase, for the last three days the number of cases has only gone up from 3 - 10 a day, which a good thing given previously it was going up 40+ a day and one day over 200. Over 9000 people have been tested.

Non-essential retail shops are closed and offices have to use work-from-home procedures where possible (at least 80% of staff should be working from home). I am now working from home and that is fine with me -- I can't catch the virus if I just stay inside my apartment. Hopefully I don't have it but I think it is unlikely. I have been pretty careful the past two+ weeks about social distancing, avoided using the metro, washed my hands a lot and had hand sanitizer on me at almost all times.

I have enough food for at least three weeks so it looks like I'm going to be in my apartment for a while. I planned ahead, made sure the food I got was mostly healthy stuff: oatmeal, legumes, dried & fresh fruit, canned vegetables, canned tuna, soups, nuts, UHT milk. I also bought some various vitamins to top-up in case my meals for the day were missing out on something, especially vitamin C for when the fresh fruit & greens runs out. I have to say I am eating healthier than I have for a while, absolutely zero fast food, no fried foods, no excess salt, desserts are dates or dried fruit, sometimes a protein bar with chocolate on it. I am trying to eat only 1600-1800 calories a day, might as well try to lose some weight while I am here.

I live in a neighborhood that is nothing but apartment buildings close together so sunlight is hard to come by. For about 90 minutes each day the sun shines directly through my windows, when it does I have a seat in the sunbeam to get some sunlight on my body and get some vitamin D. I think psychologically having a bit of time in the Sun is good for you as well.

For entertainment the Internet is working just fine and I have plenty of books to read. I have been following aerobics videos on YouTube for exercise, every now and then I'll do 10-15 minutes to keep myself moving. Seems okay so far. I'm not one to get lonely easily and it's simple enough to text or chat with friends using my phone to keep in touch with people.

I think I'll be fine for the next while just staying in my apartment. Some people are still going out in the evenings and visiting friends at majlises and stuff which I think is a bit risky. I'm not going to take the chance. I'm doing my part to prevent the spread of the virus.

Qatar Coronavirus Updates - Now Over 400 Cases

The Ministry of Public Health as reported an additional 64 cases today, bringing the total to 401. Sadly it will likely continue to increase.

The only question is when will it peak? If you look at other countries that had the virus spread rapidly earlier (South Korea, Italy, now Spain and Germany) when they reached this point it was the beginning of the sharp rise in cases, within a week it was thousands of cases. One week ago in Qatar it was only 15 cases.

Further restrictions have just been announced. Cancelling all public transport, mandating that people over 55 and people with health issues can work from home, mandatory 14-day quarantine for anyone coming into the country (if they allowed in at all, it might be that just Qatari citizens will be allowed in now).

Qatar might peak at a smaller number, the country is small, mostly one city, and people were starting to be careful over a week ago, even before significant cancelling of events etc started. Was it enough and in time? One can hope.

Qatar Coronavirus Updates - now over 300 cases

Looks like I spoke too soon about no new cases. Within an hour of the last post the Ministry of Public Health announced 58 more cases, taking the total to 320. This morning they announced another 17, so the current total is 337.

That might not seem like a lot compared to other nations but don't forget Qatar is a small country of 2.7m people. 337 cases would be the equivalent of 4,400 cases in Canada (they currently have ~200) or 40,700 in America (they currently have ~2,000). On a per capita basis Qatar now has about as many cases as South Korea, which is not good.

The Government reports that almost all of the new cases relate to the compound where 200+ cases were discovered weeks ago. I assume they have been quarantining people who were in contact with them and the positive tests are now appearing. If so then the workers would likely all be under 50 years of age so there is only a small chance of anyone dying from the virus. So far Qatar has reported no deaths. If it spreads to the Qatari community though it will most certainly kill a lot of elderly people.

For the most part people seem to be obeying recommendations for avoiding crowds and washing/sanitizing hands. I see a lot more people wearing masks or covering their mouths with things like scarves.

I was talking to a Qatari today who confirmed to me why Qatar has plenty of supplies in the shops. After the blockade the Government set minimum standards for shops to have back-up supplies of crucial items, and the Government even built storage facilities for grocery stores to store the inventory. In addition the blockade forced Qatar to ramp-up self-sufficiency so the country is now able to internally produce enough dairy products, eggs, drinking water and cleaning products/sanitizer to keep things going without significant disruption. It was a costly process to do this after the blockade happened but it's paying off now. Qatar might be in better standing than some Western nations right now in terms of having staple foods in the shops.

Let's hope Qatar got a handle on that outbreak in a compound, otherwise we'll see the number of cases continue to ramp up and stricter control measures taken.

Qatar Coronavirus Update -- Further Closings

No new cases announced thankfully (still at 262) but the government has now closed places like gyms, playgrounds, and wedding halls. The metro is closed for the weekend. Events have been pretty much cancelled across the board. The government is emphasizing good hygiene and maintaining "social distance". The government also recommends no one travel and elderly people should try to stay home as much as possible and at a minimum avoid crowded places. A clinic has now been dedicated for only Covid-19 patients so I'm guessing the government is expecting more cases soon.

Unlike some parts of the West the grocery stores seem to be doing fine. There was a surge in shopping during the week but people can still find supplies. I think credit can go in part to the blockade, which made the Qatari Government aware of the importance of stockpiling food and supplies. As for hand sanitizer a factory is up and running in Qatar now that is producing sanitizer and other cleaning products and getting it out to the shops. I had never heard of this factory before so how did it get up and running so quickly? Again, I think post-blockade emergency preparation had a lot to do with it.

I spent today at home. I have plenty of food so I can stay here for two weeks no problem if it is needed. Not that the country is on lockdown or anything but it makes sense to curtail outside interactions for a while. A lot of people, especially Qataris, have health and obesity issues so if the virus spreads rapidly it will become a huge issue. Hopefully everyone stays calm and is mindful of not spreading the virus by staying at home for the most part and if going out washing their hands and using sanitizer frequently.

Sadly I had to cancel an upcoming trip to Canada but it is certainly not worth the risk travelling right now. These are crazy times.

Qatar Coronavirus Update -- Huge Jump in Cases!

Last post Qatar had 15 cases.

Then it became 18.

Then it became 24. Qatar has now closed schools and universities. Travelers from a list of 15 countries are no longer allowed to enter. Shisha cafes have been shut and most events in the country have been cancelled.

Now the Government just announced an additional 238 cases were diagnosed. Yes, two-hundred thirty-eight, bringing the total to 262. This would mean on a per capita basis Qatar (9.7 cases per 100,000 people) is just behind Italy and Iran (~14 cases per 100,000).

The new cases appear to be due to the three "free-ranging" cases discovered a few days ago, where authorities then quarantined their apartment building/compound and started testing everyone. Looks like a lot of people caught it.

Hopefully the Government managed to contain things. Even then I expect stricter measures to be imposed by the Government, and if more clusters are found outside this compound the country might need to lock-down like Italy has done.

I'm stocked up with food etc so can stay home for an extended period if need be, ever since the virus was announced in China I had been buying extra groceries every time I went to the store so slowly built-up food in case a lock-down happened. I do it is not necessary though.

Qatar Coronavirus Update - and What to do if you Can't Find Hand Sanitizer

Until recently the number of cases in Qatar was 12 but they were all from the extradition flight from Iran so had safely been quarantined without interacting with any of the public here. Unfortunately there was an announcement this afternoon by the Ministry of Public Health that three more cases have been discovered -- but they weren't part of that Iran flight. It means that Qatar now has its first independent cases.

According to the Ministry the apartment building where the three were staying at has been quarantined and authorities are testing anyone who may have been in close contact with them. Hopefully the three weren't wandering around Qatar for too long.

It is possible they were under quarantine already, many expats who arrived from high risk countries were quarantined in designated apartment buildings (yesterday a friend of mine was telling me about one Italian colleague who was sequestered in such a building). We'll see in the next few days if more free-roaming cases appear.

Qatar is already preparing for problems and coronavirus is on people's minds. Some of my colleagues have been avoiding crowded areas like malls, and my office building has installed hand sanitizer stations in the elevators. Public bathrooms have signs instructing people how to properly wash their hands and how to minimize the risk of acquiring the virus. I'm seeing people wearing masks now, maybe 10-15% of people wandering around are wearing them. Schools are still open (Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE closed them) but I suspect if more cases appear then Qatar will close the schools as well.

There's been no panic-buying yet, plenty of toilet paper in the shops (why toilet paper has been a craze in the West I don't know), but hand sanitizer is definitely hard to come by. I picked some up last weekend but there wasn't much left. But there are other ways to sanitize. Surprisingly while the hand sanitizers were running low there were plenty of bottles of 70% ethyl alcohol as well as 70% isopropyl alcohol bottles right by where you would buy sanitizer. I don't know if people realize those alcohols are the main ingredient of most hand sanitizers and work just as well. There are online recipes for making at-home hand sanitizer with either of those alcohols but just using them as they are will work fine. I did some searching and as long as the strength is at least 60% it will kill the virus. The alcohols are a liquid so maybe get something like an eye-dropper so you don't use too much.


Hopefully in Qatar things don't get as extreme as in the nearby countries. Saudi has quarantined one city today, and closed the bridge and Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to non-commercial traffic. Kuwait is not letting most (all?) non-citizens into the country, basically trying to seal the country off, and Bahrain now has 85 cases, which is more per capita than China. As long as everyone stays calm, takes precautions, and keeps washing their hands things shouldn't get too severe.

Qatar and the Coronavirus

Okay, it has been an exciting last couple of weeks to say the least. Slowly but surely the Coronavirus has been making its way around the world and now there are cases all over the Middle East, mostly thanks to the outbreak in Iran.

People here are definitely concerned but not panicking. Coronavirus is the main topic of conversation wherever you go. Many people have canceled trips abroad, including my friends who canceled a weekend trip to Istanbul due to worries over Coronavirus -- and then though no cases have been reported yet in Turkey. There hasn't been panic-buying yet and the shops are still well-stocked with food and essentials.

Currently Qatar has seven cases (it was three but it changed as I was typing this) but it is not a concern; a few days ago the Qatar Government sent a special flight to Iran to pick up citizens stranded there and took them straight to quarantine. All seven cases are from that flight. So far there are no cases in Qatar from people independent of that flight.

It's not to say that Qatar is not testing for it, if someone goes to the hospital or clinic with symptoms they get checked for the virus. Luckily no other cases so far. The blockade is actually proving to be a help here, the only ways into the country are through the airport or by ship, and measures are in place at both places. Even goods offloaded from ships are left in storage for at least two days before being moved in. The Ministry of Health appears to be taking Coronavirus seriously and has been making preparations for an outbreak.

The rest of the Gulf is not so fortunate. Kuwait has over 50 cases, Bahrain nearly as many, UAE has over 20 and Saudi is recording its first cases now. Most of these were from people flying in from Iran or people in close contact with them, though in the UAE some cases were from China and Italy. Lots of travel restrictions are now in place, Saudi is cancelling most types of visit visas, Kuwait is not allowing many travellers in and advised its citizens not to travel. Bahrain has only one million people so 50 cases is a lot per capita (it would be the equivalent of United States having 15,000 cases) so they need to be extra-careful lest it turn into a major problem.

It's clear that some countries are either underreporting or do not have the ability to detect most of the cases. There is no way Iran has so few cases. Back when they were claiming they had 95 cases around 60 people flying to the Gulf from Iran were found to have the virus. Unless a symptom of the Coronavirus is a burning desire to buy plane tickets to the Gulf there is no chance that many people would have it if only 95 cases had been in the country. I read an article a few days ago where some Canadian researchers estimated Iran probably had 18,000 or so cases. Now it is probably more. I spoke with some Iranian friends who live in Qatar and they said people in Iran are really concerned and no believes the Government numbers. That Turkey is reporting none is also odd given it shares a border with Iran. Yes it closed the border a while ago but given it can take many days for symptoms to show there has to be some who crossed into Turkey (or flew there) beforehand. Egypt is also a big question mark, so few cases reported yet in other countries they are detecting cases in Egyptians. Many Gulf countries have banned travellers from Egypt or who have recently been in Egypt, I think they suspect it is a bigger problem in Egypt than the Government is letting on.


Anyway, I'm fine. Things in Qatar are still normal, no lock-downs or school closures. I have stocked up on essentials but hope things don't get worse here.

Locusts

This week social media in Arabia was flooded with videos of locust swarms invading the deserts. The swarms are possibly from Pakistan, which is having serious issues with locusts right now, or maybe the weather conditions in the entire region are helping locusts swarm, I'm not sure. Unfortunately I didn't see a swarm myself, that would have been cool to witness.

In the local news was this great article: Ministry combats locust swarm, warns against eating the insects. Now most Westerners are probably thinking, "Don't eat them?! Did that really need to be said?". Well the answer is yes, it needed to be said. Many people in Arabia eat locusts and the Qatari Government is concerned if people eat them they may be poisoned by the insecticides the Government is spraying to control the swarms.

Islam has a number of dietary restrictions and Muslims have to avoid foods that are 'haram' (forbidden). The most well known of these haram foods is pork, but there are other restrictions as well. It has some similarities (but is not exact) to Jewish dietary laws. Muslims look for food that is 'halal', acceptable for Muslims to eat.

While not specifically mentioned in the Qur'an, eating locusts is mentioned in a number of hadiths as 'halal'. A quick Google search found about a dozen such references in hadiths, including one in the Al-Bukhari hadiths:

Narrated by Ibn Abi `Aufa:
We participated with the Prophet (peace be upon him) in six or seven Ghazawat, and we used to eat locusts with him.

Locusts are, I believe, the only insect specifically listed as halal. Because of this many people in the Arabian peninsula will eat them. It is not commonly done in Qatar, I don't see grilled locusts being sold at marketplaces here, but clearly when abundant some people eat them, hence the Government's warning. A Qatari friend mentioned to me that when he was young and at an Army Cadet camp they had to eat locusts as part of desert survival skills training. It's not something he enjoyed eating though.

Despite the hadiths it is not common here for locusts to be eaten in Qatar. It is more common in the southern part of the peninsula, particularly in Yemen. A Yemeni friend confirmed locusts were eaten frequently there, to the point where people may even protest using insecticides so that they can eat locusts safely (I guess they want locusts to be organic).





I haven't tried one myself. I am usually pretty open-minded about trying new foods but eating a locust, even a cooked one, grosses me out. I'll pass and let the swarms live in peace.

Taking the Metro to the Airport

So on the weekend I decided to take the Metro to the Airport. Not because I was travelling anywhere, I just wanted to see where the Metro winds up in relation to the airport and how easy it would be to use the Metro with luggage to go to the airport.

You are allowed to bring luggage on the Metro. Some people were confused about whether you could because the Dubai Metro doesn't allow you to (have they changed that rule? It's been years since I've been there.) In the Doha Metro there is space in the cars for luggage.

The trip to the airport is underground, which explains why I never saw a train being tested near the airport.

And as soon as you get past the pay gate there are carts waiting for you to place your luggage on.

You do wind up a distance away from the airport, this picture was taken from ground level, after taking the elevator up to the surface.

But they provide moving walkways for you to use to get you to the airport.

The way is entirely enclosed (thus has A/C) except for this one 20m stretch where you have to cross a road in the short-term parking lot.

After which you're in the airport. I'd say from the train platform to the terminal is about 6-8 minutes of elevators and walking.

All in all it worked fine. Given that it costs QR 2 for a trip on the metro, versus QR 40-80 for a taxi, it's a total deal, unless you are travelling with a lot of luggage.


My only criticism is that at the moment (but I have heard it will change soon) the Metro starts at 6am, and the first train probably arrives at the airport around 6:35am. The busiest time for flights leaving Doha is 6:45am-9:00am, which means the Metro doesn't start early enough for most morning passengers as they should be at the airport 2-3 hours before the flight. The Metro will need to start earlier, I have heard a 5am start may happen soon, but I hope that eventually it starts even earlier.

The Passing of Sultan Qaboos of Oman

I was saddened to hear of the passing of Sultan Qaboos of Oman this weekend. Everyone knew he wasn't doing well, after a number of medical troubles in the last few years he cut short hospital treatment in Belgium to return to Oman, leading most to suspect that he had a terminal illness and it was only a matter of time.

I happened to be in Oman for the New Year's weekend with friends and the front page of all local newspapers were covering palace announcements about his health (at the time he was stable). The Sultan was 79 and had ruled Oman for almost 50 years.

I don't think most Westerners would understand what the Sultan managed to accomplish for his people during his reign. The Sultan's father was xenophobic and rejected "modern" things like technology, isolating the country and not developing it despite the wealth from oil coming in. When Qaboos deposed his father in 1970 the country was almost completely undeveloped: if you weren't in the capital chances are you had no access to paved roads, schools, hospitals, even electricity. Illiteracy was high, and many people were suffering/dying of preventable diseases. Sultan Qaboos immediately changed that, using the money from oil to develop the country, including rural areas and villages. He was known for touring the country with Government Ministers, seeing the changes and meeting with villagers to discuss their problems and what work needed to be done. Sure the Sultan had some lavish tastes as well, he didn't live as a pauper (he especially loved fine yachts) but it is stunning how much he used the country's wealth for development and helping the people. If you do a search of the internet or Youtube you can find some films/writings about what it was like in Oman before Qaboos took over, or in the early part of his reign. Compare that with today, the country is truly modern. The new airport is stunning. The cities and architecture are great. University education is common. Traffic jams are a common annoyance in Muscat now. The infrastructure is up-to-date. Luxury hotels and resorts are in Muscat and even up in the mountains. You would have never thought that 50 years ago there was very little. If you do get a chance try to travel to Oman, it really is a lovely country, and I have stated on my blog more than once it's my favourite country in the Middle East to visit.

I'm not sure how the Omani people are coping with the news. Most Omanis have never had another Sultan. I think it will be tougher for the older Omanis; younger Omanis are used to the modernization and maybe do not realize just how much the Sultan changed things. Older Omanis would have lived through the transformation and know what the Sultan did for the people.

Sultan Qaboos did not have any sons, nor did he have brothers, and there was no official successor. Qaboos decreed that after his death the Royal Family had three days to decide on a successor, if they could not decide then a sealed envelope would be opened, which contained Qaboos's choice for who should succeed him. Media in Oman reported that the Royal Family decided instead to respect Qaboos's choice, declaring that it would not decide on a successor and instead open the envelope. Thus Qaboos's cousin Haitham bin Tariq has become Sultan. I think the Royal Family was wise to use the envelope -- Qaboos was greatly revered and people would always speculate about what his wishes were. Going with Qaboos's choice will allow for a smooth transition of power.

Best wishes to Oman and its people in this difficult time.