Covid-19 is no longer considered a global health emergency, the World Health Organisation declared in May.
Qatar has officially ended all remaining Covid-19 restrictions, including masks, according to a statement by the Ministry of Public Health.
Customer service staff are no longer obligated to wear face masks during their work shifts, as are individuals entering hospitals, medical centres, and other healthcare facilities.
However, the health ministry stressed the importance of refraining from visiting patients in hospital if individuals are displaying any indications of respiratory infection, such as fever, cough, or a runny nose.
Covid-19 is no longer considered a global health emergency, the World Health Organisation declared in May.
While the coronavirus continues to spread and evolve, it is now deemed to be a global health threat at a lower level of concern, the WHO said.
The Covid-19 pandemic struck much of the world at the end of 2019 and forced global authorities to impose mass lockdowns for the most part of 2020. Since it was first detected, nearly 7 million people have died after contracting the virus.
In Qatar, 690 Covid-19 related deaths were recorded.
However, with cases now on the decline, restrictions have been lifted around the world.
Over in Saudi Arabia, authorities in the kingdom confirmed no restrictions would be imposed on millions of Muslims currently preparing to undertake the annual Hajj pilgrimage, scrapping limits imposed over the last few years to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The number of pilgrims will return to what it was before the pandemic, without any age limit,” Tawfiq al-Rabiah, minister of Hajj and Umrah, told reporters in Riyadh in January.
An estimated 2.5 million people performed Hajj in the Kingdom in 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the number of visitors was drastically reduced as a result of restrictions put in place to prevent the possible spread of the virus.
In 2022, access was limited to pilgrims who were 18 to 65 years old, had received a complete coronavirus vaccination or immunisation, and were free of any chronic illnesses.
This year’s Hajj season is to start on 26 June.
Per Islamic rulings, every able-bodied Muslim who has the financial means must perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime.
