Mereja.Forum

[Zmeselo]

Lockdown at labor camp in Qatar described as coronavirus prison


Migrant workers in Qatar have described being trapped in a coronavirus prison at the country’s largest labor camp. (File/Shutterstock)

• The area is guarded by police, and workers who live there, many of whom had been working on Fifa World Cup 2022 infrastructure projects, cannot leave

• Some workers have been told to go on unpaid leave until further notice, with only food and accommodation covered

ARAB NEWS

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1644376/middle-east

March 20, 2020

LONDON: Migrant workers in Qatar have described being trapped in a coronavirus prison at the country’s largest labor camp.

The camp was locked down after hundreds of construction workers became sick with Covid-19.

Thousands of workers are trapped in filthy, over-crowded camps within the “Industrial Area” in Doha where the virus can spread rapidly, The Guardian reported.

The area is guarded by police, and workers who live there, many of whom had been working on Fifa World Cup 2022 infrastructure projects, cannot leave.

Qatari authorities on Tuesday announced the closure of several square kilometers of the Industrial Area.
Workers are fearful and there is an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Some workers have been told to go on unpaid leave until further notice, with only food and accommodation covered, sources at the camp told The Guardian.

The situation is getting worse each day. Workers from camp 1 to camp 32 are in lockdown. My friends who live there are in extreme panic,

a Bangladeshi worker told The Guardian.

We are not allowed to walk in groups or eat in a tea shop. But you can still buy food and take it home. I’m worried about my family back home. There won’t be anyone to take care of them if anything happens to me,

a Nepali worker said.

He added that no one is allowed to leave the area.

On Mar. 11, authorities said 238 people under quarantine in a residential compound had tested positive for coronavirus. Subsequent announcements have linked most reported cases to migrant workers without mentioning nationalities.

Terrified workers are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of the disease.

We are doing everything to keep ourselves safe. The camp was a little dirty, so we cleaned everything, changed the bed sheets, and used spray to kill the germs,

a worker told The Guardian.

Although the country is on lockdown and has shut down almost all public spaces in the face of the outbreak, some construction workers who have not tested positive for Covid-19 say they are being forced to work after having just their temperatures checked before they begin.

Amnesty International said migrant workers trapped in camps such as those in Qatar are at particular risk of exposure to the virus.

The Qatari government must ensure that human rights remain central to all attempts at prevention and containment of the COVID-19 virus, and also that all people have access to health care, including preventive care and treatment for everyone affected, without discrimination,

said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Global Issues.

Doha’s Industrial Area is made up of warehouses, factories and workers’ accommodation. It is home to hundreds of thousands of men who live in cramped and dirty conditions. Kitchens and toilets are communal, making it very easy for virus to be transmitted.

Expats make up the majority of the population in Qatar, and the government on Thursday said there were 460 cases in the country — the highest number among the six Gulf Arab states that have reported a total of more than 1,300 coronavirus cases.

[Zmeselo]

CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
China's coronavirus containment team targets Italy: "There are still parties in hotels"

Chinese Red Cross Vice President Criticizes Laxity Of Confinement Policies

SUN SHUOPENG, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE RED CROSS IN CHINA.

LORENA PACHO

https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-03-20/ ... teles.html

(Software translation)

Rome - 20 MAR 2020

Chinese doctors who helped overcome the coronavirus in Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, have warned that the confinement being applied in Italy is not enough to contain the virus and have advised that much more severe measures be taken. The team of nine Chinese experts who have been working since Thursday in Milan to assist the Italian authorities have strongly criticized, after visiting the city, the lightness of the restrictions that are in place in the transalpine country and have recommended more rigid measures so that all people stay at home, the only way, they say, to stop the spread of the virus.

The measures that have been adopted are too little rigorous. If the way of dealing with this problem is not changed, the virus will continue to circulate,

said the vice president of the Chinese Red Cross, Yang Huichuan, at a press conference from Milan, the capital of Lombardy, the region most hit, which gathers 15,757 of the 41,035 cases in the country.

The life of our citizens is the most important thing now. There is no second chance when it comes to lives,

continued the doctor, who is also responsible for the group of Chinese doctors deployed in the transalpine country.

Huichuan expressed to the media his amazement at the number of people he had met on the streets in Milan, the country's economic capital.

Public transport continues to function, there are many people on the streets and there are still dinners or parties in hotels. In addition, in the area hardest hit by the virus, people do not wear masks,

he reproved.

He also noted that the picture that is now being experienced in Italy, which has already overtaken China in the number of deaths, and particularly in Lombardy, is "very similar" to what was experienced a couple of months ago in Wuhan, the focus of the outbreak.

Only after a month of complete closure of the city the hospitals were able to really start treating patients and to overcome the peak of the disease,

the doctor warned.

He also stressed the importance that all citizens, not just the authorities and health personnel, get involved in the fight against the virus and follow "strict closure policies."

This pandemic will only stop if all the people stay home,

summarized the doctor.

And he applauded the fact that the world is moving

towards an international practice of infectious disease control.

Lombardy Governor Attilio Fontana, who has been calling for new restrictions on the central government for days, such as the express prohibition on leaving his home to walk or play outdoor sports and the deployment of the Army to contain displacement, announced today that 114 soldiers will begin to patrol the streets of Lombard cities to control the movements of people.

Unfortunately, even today the numbers are not good, neither in terms of new cases nor in terms of deaths. The figures are not close to a change in trend, but are increasing significantly,

Fontana warned.


"State a casa" (stay at home), is written in the building that houses the Lombardy headquarters region. But that injunction is poorly enforced, criticizes Chinese expert group.

Other governors from different regions have also lobbied Rome to tighten the restrictions. Sicily and Campania have also called for military patrols, for which the Executive has given the go-ahead. The President of Veneto, Luca Zaia, has established that those who walk their pets cannot be separated more than 200 meters from their home. And he has suggested that law enforcement agencies can control people's movements by locating their mobile phones, following the example of other countries such as China, South Korea or Israel.. The governor of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Fedriga, has decreed on his own the prohibition of walking or doing outdoor sports and the closure on Sunday of all commercial activities except pharmacies, parapharmacies and kiosks. The City Council of the capital has also announced that starting this weekend, the police will abandon the technique of random controls and will stop all vehicles circulating in the city to verify the reason for the displacement.

Defense and Interior Ministers Lorenzo Guerini and Luciana Lamorgese have indicated that more than 20,000 agents and soldiers of the armed forces and state security forces are available to participate in the fight against the coronavirus.

The best guarantee of a positive result would be that each of us became his own controller,

Lamorgese said in an interview with the newspaper La Repubblica, in which he also confirmed that applying new restrictions is not ruled out if it is not respected. The order to stay home and leave only for what is strictly necessary.

In Rome, two convents have been isolated after some sixty nuns have tested positive for coronavirus and the authorities have started an epidemiological study to determine how the infections have occurred. One of the religious centers is dedicated to the care of the sick and the other to teaching.

[pastlast]

Lockdown at labor camp in Qatar described as coronavirus prison


Migrant workers in Qatar have described being trapped in a coronavirus prison at the country’s largest labor camp. (File/Shutterstock)

• The area is guarded by police, and workers who live there, many of whom had been working on Fifa World Cup 2022 infrastructure projects, cannot leave

• Some workers have been told to go on unpaid leave until further notice, with only food and accommodation covered

ARAB NEWS

https://www.arabnews.com/node/1644376/middle-east

March 20, 2020

LONDON: Migrant workers in Qatar have described being trapped in a coronavirus prison at the country’s largest labor camp.

The camp was locked down after hundreds of construction workers became sick with Covid-19.

Thousands of workers are trapped in filthy, over-crowded camps within the “Industrial Area” in Doha where the virus can spread rapidly, The Guardian reported.

The area is guarded by police, and workers who live there, many of whom had been working on Fifa World Cup 2022 infrastructure projects, cannot leave.

Qatari authorities on Tuesday announced the closure of several square kilometers of the Industrial Area.
Workers are fearful and there is an atmosphere of uncertainty.

Some workers have been told to go on unpaid leave until further notice, with only food and accommodation covered, sources at the camp told The Guardian.

The situation is getting worse each day. Workers from camp 1 to camp 32 are in lockdown. My friends who live there are in extreme panic,

a Bangladeshi worker told The Guardian.

We are not allowed to walk in groups or eat in a tea shop. But you can still buy food and take it home. I’m worried about my family back home. There won’t be anyone to take care of them if anything happens to me,

a Nepali worker said.

He added that no one is allowed to leave the area.

On Mar. 11, authorities said 238 people under quarantine in a residential compound had tested positive for coronavirus. Subsequent announcements have linked most reported cases to migrant workers without mentioning nationalities.

Terrified workers are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of the disease.

We are doing everything to keep ourselves safe. The camp was a little dirty, so we cleaned everything, changed the bed sheets, and used spray to kill the germs,

a worker told The Guardian.

Although the country is on lockdown and has shut down almost all public spaces in the face of the outbreak, some construction workers who have not tested positive for Covid-19 say they are being forced to work after having just their temperatures checked before they begin.

Amnesty International said migrant workers trapped in camps such as those in Qatar are at particular risk of exposure to the virus.

The Qatari government must ensure that human rights remain central to all attempts at prevention and containment of the COVID-19 virus, and also that all people have access to health care, including preventive care and treatment for everyone affected, without discrimination,

said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director of Global Issues.

Doha’s Industrial Area is made up of warehouses, factories and workers’ accommodation. It is home to hundreds of thousands of men who live in cramped and dirty conditions. Kitchens and toilets are communal, making it very easy for virus to be transmitted.

Expats make up the majority of the population in Qatar, and the government on Thursday said there were 460 cases in the country — the highest number among the six Gulf Arab states that have reported a total of more than 1,300 coronavirus cases.

[Zmeselo]

There was a meeting 2019, about a pandemic. A mock test. JOHN HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH AND SECURITY- EVENT 201.

http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/

Who attended this meeting?

1. World Economic Forum
2. Gates Foundation
3. The CIA
4. World Bank
5. Chinese Center for Disease Control
6. Bloomberg

Hmmm!

____________

[Zmeselo]

Coronavirus-free Eritrea holds national exams for over 14,000 students

By Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban

https://www.africanews.com/amp/2020/03/ ... arantined/

Last updated: 19/03/2020



March 18, 2020: Eritrea national exams underway

Eritrea like most countries across the continent is taking precautions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The country is however going on with academic activity relative to the National School Leaving Examination 2019/2020 which started on Wednesday 18 March across the country.

A statement from the Ministry of Education quoted Dr. Bisrat Gebru, Director of the National Testing Center, as confirming that

the examination will continue until the 23rd of this month, and will include 13 fields of studies.

Dr. Bisrat also indicated that a total of 14,960 students including 7,149 females are sitting in the examination that is being conducted in 8 testing stations.

The director further disclose that the parallel examination that was given in the International Eritrean Community Schools in Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been halted due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Eritrea, South Sudan, Burundi and Uganda are the few countries in the East Africa / Horn of Africa region to have managed to keep out the COVID-19 pandemic so far.

March 17, 2020: Coronavirus-free Eritrea bans all internal, external travel

Eritrea’s Ministry of Health also issued additional guidelines to all nationals & expatriates residing in the country. They have not recorded any case yet even though neighbours Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea have one, one and six cases respectively – as at March 18. The Sudan case has resulted in death.

The guidelines basically bans all travels within and outside of the country.

1. Every person should refrain from internal & foreign travel unless this is for extremely urgent & unavoidable purposes;

2. Every person must avoid, in as much as this is possible, public gatherings;

3. Foreign travel from & to Eritrea has diminished significantly on the basis of the MoH guidelines issued last week. This will be bolstered further henceforth to fully restrict travel from, and to, Eritrea except in urgent & unavoidable circumstances

March 12, 2020: Eritrea’s coronavirus rules: Chinese, Italians, Iranians to be quarantined

Eritrea’s Health Ministry has issued guidelines relative to the recent coronavirus outbreak. The March 11 statement addresses local and international audiences in the areas of education and of entry into the Horn of Africa.

The statement says persons originating from or with recent travel history to four virus-impacted countries will be quarantined. The countries are China, Italy, South Korea and Iran.

Even though the government through the ministry has announced a quarantine, according to the Africa Disease Control Center based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Eritrea was among a handful African countries that do not have the capacity to test for the virus.

Eritrea is not the only country resorting to quarantining persons from or connected to particular countries. The Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC; announced similar measure for Germans, Italians, French and Chinese. Uganda has also announced quarantine for persons from 16 high-risk nations.

The Ministry confirmed that there was no case recorded in the country so far adding that since the country was

linked by land, air, and sea with several countries affected by the disease…. (it was) urgent and imperative for Eritrea to take precautionary measures to prevent the outbreak and spread of the disease as well as to prepare for all possible scenarios.

The closest neighbour of Eritrea to have recorded a case is Egypt, the first African country to record a case and a death. It currently has Africa’s highest infection rate with over 50 confirmed cases.

In view of these facts, the Ministry of Health issues the following guidelines:

1. Continuous sensitization campaigns will be disseminated through the various local media outlets in order to provide timely and full information to the general public. These announcements must be followed with due diligence.

2. In view of the potential gravity of the situation and for the sake of their own safety as well as the safety of the Eritrean people, the Ministry of Health urges all nationals and foreigners who may have plans to travel to, and from Eritrea, to postpone their plans on their own volition.

3. The Ministry of Health will continue to monitor developments earnestly to assess occurrence, rate and extent of contagion, and other vital parameters and symptoms of the epidemic. It will accordingly issue appropriate announcements and guidelines.

4. Visitors who originate directly from, or who have transited through, China, Italy, South Korea and Iran will be quarantined.