By Tahani Moksir
At the beginning of August and September, Qatar implemented the start of Phase 3 and Phase 4 of its plan to respond to the Coronavirus pandemic. Based on a recorded chart, the number of cases only increased by 10,376 within a month of its enforcement, a significantly lower number than previous records. The data aimed to prove that the decline in cases is due to the country’s strict preventive measures and its people. Prevention is one of the points that could help combat the virus and slow down its transmission. The government in regards to public places promptly implemented that being the case, preventative measures. These include the safety precautions: maintaining a one-meter social distance, imposing the mandatory use of facemasks, and ensuring hand sanitizers in public settings. Since COVID-19 is an unpredictable virus that stormed the world, it is inevitable for countries to respond to it with great caution.
As a result, Qatar underwent a four-phase plan in its reopening. Within August, the third phase was conducted with the full reopening of shopping malls, health clubs, swimming pools, and salons. In September, the fourth and last phase of the plan was put to action by the full reopening of theatres, museums, libraries, cinemas, educational institutions, and the approval to host large gatherings. The great shift from being suddenly surrounded by restrictions to it being lifted in just two months elicited mixed reactions from the public. Nonetheless, the four-phase approach was not fully commenced without thorough consideration of the country’s current circumstances and state. In addition to that, Qatar also acknowledged that there were a series of issues examined before the country underwent its full reopening.
Overall, even though the gradual reopening of Qatar has commenced, the on-going pandemic is far from over. It is just a necessary procedure to carry out since the economy and its people cannot remain in a standstill any longer. Indeed, the long-awaited return of normality is being anticipated, and the measures prove that Qatar is slowly but surely walking on the long path to pandemic recovery.