His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a meeting of the Supreme Committee for Crisis Management to follow up on all developments and precautionary measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. Decisions and procedures, as follows:
Stopping all incoming flights to Qatar, starting from Wednesday, March 18, for a period of 14 days with the exception of air cargo and transit flights, in addition to receiving any of the Qatari citizens coming from any destination. They will be quarantined for 14 days upon arrival.
Qatari students located outside the country is advised to adhere to the policies in the country they are studying with the readiness of the country’s embassies to provide any of the necessary services, including facilitating the procedures for returning to the Qatar.
Citizens and residents in the of Qatar should avoid traveling during this period.
Public transportation
All public transportation including the metro and karwa bus services are stopped from March 15, 10:00 pm onwards.
Working remotely
Employees aged 55 years and above, pregnant women, and individuals suffering from chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart and kidney disease, and hypertension should be allowed to work remotely.
Distance learning for students
All students in public schools will begin distance learning from Sunday, March 22, 2020 and students from grade one to eleven will be subject to the continuous evaluation system.
For twelfth grade students, they will undergo high school exams on time and at the designated headquarters, which will be announced later.
As for students in private schools and universities, they can start studying remotely according to the academic calendar and the evaluation systems approved for them.
Economic financial sector
- Support and provide financial and economic incentives amounting to 75 billion Qatari riyals to the private sector.
- For the central bank to put in place the appropriate mechanism to encourage banks to postpone loan installments and obligations of the private sector with a grace period of six months.
- Directing Qatar Development Bank to postpone the installments of all borrowers for a period of six months.
- Directing government funds to increase their investments in the stock exchange by 10 billion riyals.
- The Central Bank to provide additional liquidity to banks operating in the country
- Exempting food and medical goods from customs duties for a period of six months, provided that this is reflected in the selling price to the consumer.
- Exempting the following sectors from electricity and water fees for a period of six months:
Hospitality and tourism sector
Retail sector
Small and medium industries sector
Commercial complexes in exchange for providing services and exemptions to tenants
Logistics areas
- Exemption from rents for the logistical areas and small and medium industries for a period of six months, thus ending the package of decisions that were directed today.
