Coronavirus in the Middle East: country narratives

Text from al-bab's daily updates on coronavirus in the Middle East is gathered here to provide a narrative for each country:

Algeria | Bahrain | Egypt | Iraq | Israel | Jordan 

Kuwait | Lebanon | Libya | Morocco | Oman | Palestine | Qatar  

Saudi Arabia | Sudan | Syria | Tunisia | UAE | Yemen

Alternatively, this link will take you to the original daily updates.


Algeria

February 26
Algeria has reported its first coronavirus case – an Italian man who arrived in the country on February 17.

February 28
The national airline, Air Algérie, has suspended flights to "the holy places of Islam".

March 1
An Italian employee of the energy firm Eni who tested positive on arriving in Algeria on Tuesday has been flown back to Italy. No other cases have been confirmed in Algeria so far.

March 2
Algeria confirmed two new cases on Monday morning – a mother and daughter aged 53 and 24 in Blida province. Last month the women hosted two people from France who have since tested positive. This brings Algeria's total of cases to three.

March 3
Algeria reported two new cases – a father and daughter who were living in France – bringing the total to five.

March 4
Algeria confirmed three new cases, bringing the total to eight. All but one are from the same family which hosted two people from France who have since tested positive. The other case, reported earlier, is an Italian employee of the energy firm Eni who tested positive on arriving in Algeria.

March 5
Algeria reported nine new cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 17. All but one of the 17 cases are members of a family in Blida who hosted relatives from France in February.

March 8
Algeria confirmed two more cases – one person in Bleda whose relatives have previously been diagnosed, and a man who recently arrived from Europe. On Saturday a 40-year-old man escaped from quarantine in Boufarik Hospital.

March 9
Algeria now has 20 cases – 17 of them among members of the same family. The latest unrelated case is an Algerian who had been in Spain. A 40-year-old man with symptoms who escaped from a hospital on Saturday (see previous report) has been "put back under observation".

March 11
The health minister announced that "all sports, cultural, political and economic gatherings are cancelled". This raises questions about whether the authorities will try to ban the street protests against the government that have been taking place for more than a year.

March 15
The country's third coronavirus death was that of a 51-year-old woman in Blida. She was a member of a large family that became infected after hosting two visitors from France.

March 16
Algeria registered its fourth coronavirus death on Sunday – a 84-year-old woman living in Blida.

March 18
President Tabboune announced a ban on street protests, ostensibly to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The demonstrations, which earlier toppled President Bouteflika, have been continuing for more than a year. It remains to be seen whether protesters will observe the ban. A fifth death was reported in Algeria – a 50-year-old man who is said to have been chronically ill.

March 21
Algeria: For the first time in more than a year, Algerians suspended their usual Friday protests against the government. Instead, photos posted on social media showed young volunteers spraying the streets with disinfectant.

March 22
Algeria reported 49 new cases, bringing the total to 139. This is the biggest daily increase so far. The health ministry notes that 78 of the 139 cases and eight of the 15 deaths have occurred in Blida province. The outbreak in Blida started at the beginning of March among members of a large family that hosted two visitors from France who later tested positive for the virus.

March 23
Algeria reported 62 new cases – the biggest daily increase so far. A further 340 suspected cases are in hospital awaiting the results of tests.

March 24
With new coronavirus cases in Algeria increasing at an alarming rate, on Monday President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced a complete curfew in Blida province which is the seat of more than half of the 230 confirmed infections.

Across the whole country, all non-food shops, restaurants and cafes are being closed. Taxis are banned, as are gatherings of more than two people. The capital, Algiers, has been placed under a night-time curfew (7pm to 7am) and this may be extended to other areas as the situation develops.

The number of known cases in Algeria is still relatively small but because of a shortage of testing kits the problem is almost certainly a lot bigger than the published figures suggest. Since the start of the outbreak there a month ago only 1,500 tests have been carried out, according to the health minister.

China is reported to be donating 50,000 test kits, along with other medical equipment, but the first consignment is not expected until Friday.

March 25
Algeria has reported substantial rises in new cases over each of the last four days, bringing the total to 264. However the relatively large death toll – 19 – is probably a sign that many more cases are going undetected (see yesterday's report on shortage of test kits).

April 2
Algeria now has 847 confirmed cases – the second-largest number of infections in Africa. (South Africa has the highest number: 1,380 reported cases but only five deaths, compared with 58 deaths in Algeria.) Blida province is under total lockdown and the 12-hour night curfew previously introduced in 11 of the 48 provinces has now been extended to cover four more.

April 3
In the Middle East and North Africa region, Algeria now has the highest death toll linked to coronavirus outside Iran. So far, 83 people have died in Algeria and the 25 deaths reported yesterday accounted for almost half of those in Arab countries.

A major factor behind Algeria's high death rate appears to be the state of its health services. While patients in the Gulf can expect high-quality care, in Algeria seriously ill patients are being treated with the anti-malaria drug chloroquine because – in the words of the health minister – the country "has no other choice".

The benefits of chloroquine are unproven and the World Health Organisation has advised caution regarding its use for treating COVID-19.

A further 139 new cases were confirmed yesterday in Algeria, bringing the total to 986 – the second highest in Africa.

Blida province – a major hotspot – is under total lockdown and yesterday the 12-hour night curfew previously introduced in 11 of the 48 provinces was extended to cover four more.

Despite that, living conditions in many parts of the country make isolation and social distancing difficult and the North Africa Journal reports "mass gatherings" of people trying to buy flour and couscous:

"There have been scenes of fights in many stores across the country, in stores and areas that have taken no precaution to avoid a possible spread of the devastating disease.

"The problem has been magnified by the challenges facing the commerce ministry in coordinating the supply of food and necessities, forcing people to congregate in stores."

Last Friday, a 12-member team sent by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) arrived in Algeria on a chartered plane bringing medical supplies. This has led to a diplomatic row between Algeria and France following allegations about the Chinese aid which were broadcast on the France24 TV channel.

Francis Ghilès of the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs told viewers the aid had been sent to a military hospital in Ain Naâdja – implying that the military were being given privileged treatment at the expense of the general population. This prompted a furious reaction from the authorities in Algiers.

The Chinese embassy in Algiers says the medical team did not go to Ain Naâdja and the aid was intended for the employees (both Chinese and Algerian) of Chinese companies operating in the country. This was also the purpose stated by the head of the team when they arrived last week.

April 6
Algeria now has 1,320 confirmed cases. Health ministry figures show 35% of these are in Blida province where the outbreak began with a family visit by two people from France. The capital, Algiers, accounts for 17% of known cases.

April 10
Algeria: There are repeated complaints that the Algerian authorities are using the coronavirus epidemic as an excuse to suppress independent media published online. Journalists on state-run and pro-government media are allowed to work during the 3pm to 7pm curfew, but those on independent/web-based media are restricted. Separately, in an article for the Tahrir Institute, Yasmina Allouche looks at Algeria's coronavirus epidemic in the light of the country's political and economic problems.

April 15
The coronavirus situation in Algeria is "under control" according to President Tebboune, and "stable" according to the health minister. Despite these assurances, the level of testing for Covid-19 in Algeria remains low and of the 2,070 people so far confirmed as having been infected, 326 – 16% of them – have died. This is the highest death toll of any country in the region apart from Iran.

The situation in Algeria is clearly not under control, though the official figures suggest it isn't worsening rapidly. The current total of confirmed cases shows a 41% increase over the past week, which – to put a positive spin on it – is lower than in many other countries.

Meanwhile, the health minister has made some startling claims about the benefits of chloroquine as a treatment for the virus. "Patients who have been subjected to the chloroquine treatment protocol can now leave the hospital after five days (instead of ten) and continue their treatment at home," he said on Tuesday.

Chloroquine has the advantage of being produced locally and available in large quantities. According to President Tebboune there is enough in stock to treat 230,000 people. There are plans to increase this further "once the raw material ordered from India is received", the president added.

Last month the health minister defended the use of chloroquine on the grounds that Algeria “has no other choice”.

The effectiveness chloroquine as a treatment for Covid-19 is disupted by experts. An article in the British Medical Journal summarising the scientific research describes its use as "premature and potentially harmful".

April 27
In a controversial move to mark the start of Ramadan, the Algerian government has eased restrictions in Blida – the province at the centre of the country's Covid-19 epidemic. A total lockdown of Blida imposed on March 23 has now been reduced to a partial curfew running from 2pm to 7am daily.

This relaxation has raised fears among medical professionals that progress made over the last few weeks could be reversed by a surge of new infections.

“It is dangerous, and whoever thinks we have overcome the epidemic is mistaken,” Mohammed Yousfi, head of the Infectious Diseases Department at the Boufarik Hospital in Blida was quoted as saying.

Other Algerian doctors have expressed similar concerns. Their main fear is that people will treat the relaxation as a signal to ignore preventive measures and social distancing. People who throng markets and other public spaces are at risk of ending up in hospital, Abdulrazzak Bouamra, head of epidemiology at the Mustafa Pasha Hospital warned.

A photo circulated by Reuters last week shows the government's idea of how outdoor markets are supposed to be set up in order to maintain social distancing, but a video broadcast by Algerian television at the weekend shows the reality in Blida is very different.

There are scenes from a bustling market where – apart from a few face masks – there is little sign of people taking precautions. It looks very much like business as usual.

A clothes shop does appear to be taking more care. Beneath a sign saying "Masks are essential", customers are handed face masks and have their temperature checked.

Blida is a prime example of how quickly the virus can spread. The outbreak there began in February with a family visit by two people from France who later tested positive for the virus. On March 1 two members of the family were diagnosed and a week later the number of infected family members had risen to 17.

By March 22 Blida accounted for more than half of the known Covid-19 cases in Algeria and more than half the deaths.

According to the latest tally, out of 3,382 confirmed cases in Algeria, 749 have been in Blida – far more than in the capital or any of the other provinces.

Two weeks ago President Tebboune claimed that the coronavirus situation in Algeria is "under control". It clearly isn't, though there have been some encouraging signs.

The virus is still spreading, but not as quickly as it was. The number of active cases has grown by 17% in the last six days – which is a lot less than in neighbouring Morocco.

However, the official figures should be viewed with caution because testing for the virus has been very limited and there are likely to be undetected cases. According to Worldometer only 6,500 tests have so far been carried out in Algeria.


Bahrain

February 25
The Ministry of Health announced six new cases on Tuesday morning, bringing the total to eight. These were two Bahrainis and four Saudis who arrived at the airport from Iran via Dubai. On Tuesday afternoon the ministry announced a further nine cases (seven Bahrainis and two Saudis, all arriving from Iran via the UAE). Six more cases were announced on Tuesday evening, bringing the total to 23. An unspecified number of others have been placed in quarantine. Bahrain has now suspended flights from Dubai and says this will continue for 48 hours.

February 26
Bahrain reported three more cases on Wednesday, bringing the total to 26. The latest cases are three women who had arrived on indirect flights from Iran before travel restrictions were introduced. The Ministry of Health has called on everyone who has visited Iran during February to come forward for testing. All schools, universities and nurseries in Bahrain were closed on Tuesday and will remain closed for the next two weeks.

February 27
The Ministry of Health confirmed seven new cases, bringing the total to 33. All these cases have been linked to visits to Iran and on Thursday a ministry official said most were detected through airport checks as soon as they arrived in Bahrain. Bahrain's civil aviation authority announced on Thursday that it was extending the suspension of flights arriving from Dubai and Sharjah for a further 48 hours. It has also reduced the overall number of incoming regional flights.

February 28
The Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that it has "begun implementing" a plan to evacuate its citizens from Iran. The plan includes screening and quarantine procedures. Meanwhile, the Health Ministry said the 33 cases currently being treated in Bahrain are showing "positive signs of recovery".

February 29
Bahrain confirmed five new cases on Friday: four Bahraini women and a Saudi woman, all of whom had been in Iran (details here and here). The interior ministry is concerned about 2,292 people who arrived in the country from Iran before the announcement of the outbreak there. Of those, only 310 have come forward for testing. The authorities say they will prosecute "anyone who returned from Iran in February and didn’t call to make appointments for the tests”.

March 1
Three new cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to 41. The latest three are Bahraini citizens – two women and a man – who were diagnosed on arrival via indirect flights from Iran.

March 2
Five Bahrainis and a Saudi tested positive after arriving from Iran, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 47. Nine Saudis are now known to have been infected, though all the reported cases have occurred outside the kingdom.

March 3
Bahrain reported two new cases – a Bahraini woman and a Saudi man – bringing the total to 49.

March 4
The health ministry has set up a web page to provide the latest information. It currently shows 49 "active" cases – only two of which need medication. Two people tested positive while in quarantine, while 3,709 people have tested negative.

March 5
The health ministry says there are now 51 cases – an increase of two on the previous day.

March 6
Bahrain has halted ticket sales for the Formula 1 Grand Prix which is due to start on March 20. It's not yet clear whether the race will be cancelled but travel restrictions look like becoming a major problem for competitors.

March 8
The health ministry reported on Sunday morning that there are now 79 confirmed cases – an increase of 23 – but gave no further details.

March 9
Bahrain says the Formula 1 Grand Prix, which is due to start on March 20, will go ahead – but without spectators. Ticket sales were suspended last week.

March 10
The health ministry closed a cafe in Sanad because it had been frequented by two people who were supposed to be in self-isolation. A hospital ward at Salmaniya Medical Complex was also closed after a doctor tested positive. A dentist at a private clinic has been suspended and reported to the public prosecutor for breaking the self-isolation rules.

March 11
On Wednesday Bahrain's govermnent announced the start of its "International Covid-19 Repatriation Programme". A chartered aircraft brought 165 people back from Iran – 77 of whom have been diagnosed with the virus. The returnees will now be "clinically segregated" at a "Specialist Repatriation Containment Facility". In line with al-bab's previous practice, these 77 cases are not included in the statistics above because they were diagnosed outside the country. [Update, 7pm March 11: It now seems they were diagnosed on arrival in Bahrain, so the 77 will be added to tomorrow's figures.]

March 12
In some ways Bahrain's increase is less alarming than Qatar's. In effect, Bahrain is importing existing cases from Iran – deliberately but under controlled conditions.

The government has launched an "International Covid-19 Repatriation Programme" to bring Bahraini citizens back from affected countries. As part of this, the health ministry chartered an aircraft which brought 165 people from Iran under "specialist" supervision. Of these, 77 tested positive on arrival.

There is little risk that any of the returnees will infect others in Bahrain. Those who tested negative were taken to a "Specialist Repatriation Containment Facility" and will not be released until the quarantine period is complete.

However, the fact that almost half the people on the flight were found to be infected is a further indication that Iran's official figures, high as they are, do not reflect the reality there. The Bahrainis appear to have been surprised by "the high volume of passengers testing positive" and say they will be making some revisions to their repatriation programme as a result.

March 13
The government news agency reported that the king has pardoned 901 prisoners "due to humanitarian reasons and under current conditions". The decision appears to be virus-related.

March 14
Bahrain reported 13 new cases. The health ministry also said "a number" of workers in shared accommodation had been tested for the virus. The results so far are negative and the health ministry says they will be quaratined for two weeks in their accommodation (which is provided by their employer) and will continue to be paid. No further details were given but it's likely they are a group of migrant workers.

March 15
An unnamed person has been placed in compulsory quarantine and will be prosecuted for failing to comply with the rules for self-isolation at home, the government news agency reported. It quoted the public prosecutor as saying the authorities will take "immediate action" against any violations.

March 16
A Bahraini businessman – as yet unnamed – is reported to have acquired the right to "franchise and import" rapid tests for coronavirus which give a result in minutes rather than hours.

Meanwhile, Kuwait has ordered 400,000 rapid test kits. These are expected to arrive on Wednesday and could be in use by next Sunday.

So far, though, the reliability of these tests is unproven and at this stage they are intended to be used only for research purposes. This is clearly stated in the instructions for one such test:

Instructions say "For research use only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures."

One rapid test, developed by BioMedomics, has been widely used in China but the company warns that the results it gives should not be the only basis for diagnosis: "Results should be used in combination with clinical observations and other testing methods such as nucleic acid PCR test."

In Britain on Saturday, Public Health England advised against using rapid tests "in community settings, such as pharmacies".

The tests could be useful in identifying people who may be positive and thus need further checks. But there's a danger that false negative results could lead some people to think they are in the clear when they are not.

March 18
Bahrain is discouraging people from searching for information about coronavirus on the internet. The General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security warned that "suspicious websites" may exploit the situation in order to hack personal data and control users' computers.

March 20
Bahrain has called a halt to Friday prayers and sermons in mosques, until further notice. However, mosques will remain open for the five daily prayers.

March 23
Bahrain reported its second coronavirus-linked death – a 51-year-old Bahraini woman who had chronic health problems.

March 24
Bahrain: Police have started patrols to enforce social distancing. Public gatherings of more than five people are forbidden and individuals must stay at least one metre apart. Penalties for violators are up to three months in jail and/or a fine of up to 10,000 dinars ($26,000). Last Friday's congregational prayers were cancelled and a further announcement on Monday suspended all prayers in mosques.

March 25
Bahrain: The central bank has ordered foreign exchange companies to sterilise banknotes. The instructions are to expose them to ultraviolet germicidal irradiation, high temperatures or isolate them for at least three days. Staff are also being told to wear protective gear when handling coins.

April 7
At least three countries in the Middle East are resorting to technology based around mobile phones in their efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The three – Bahrain, Israel and the UAE – are using it in different ways but the underlying principle is the same in each of them. Mobile phones can tell the authorities where you are, and where you have been.

In the midst of an epidemic this can be used for several purposes: to check that people who are supposed to be in quarantine remain in quarantine, to detect others who are not observing the rules of social isolation, and to identify those who have been in contact with an infected person.

It began in Israel on March 14 when prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that the authorities would be relying on technology previously used for counter-terrorism purposes in order to track carriers of the disease.

This led to the revelation that the Shin Bet security service maintains a secret database known as "The Tool" which monitors the locations of all mobile phones and all the numbers called.

Aside from counter-terrorism, The Tool can be used to identify those who have been in the "vicinity" of anyone known to be infected and send them text message telling them to self-quarantine.

Ten days after Netanyahu's announcement, Shin Bet said its mass surveillance efforts had so far detected 500 contacts of coronavirus carriers.

While Israel is using technology to trace contacts, the United Arab Emirates is using it mainly to prevent flouting of the social isolation rules (see previous report).

In the UAE, people who are not classified as essential workers are forbidden to leave home without a permit. The process of applying for a permit (which has to be repeated for every trip outdoors) starts with registering the applicant's mobile phone number on a police website.

Applicants then have to provide details of where they want to go, what time they will set out, and what time they expect to return home. Records of the phone's location can be checked to see whether the user has complied with the permit.

Meanwhile, the government of Bahrain has launched a phone app called "BeAware Bahrain". The app is partly intended to give health information relating to the virus but it has other purposes too.

As in Israel, it will notify people if they come close to someone who is known to be infected.

It will also track people who are in compulsory home in quarantine – and in this case it is combined with GPS technology, which the Bahrainis believe will make it more effective.

According to Gulf News, users of the app must set their location via their phone when they start the quarantine but they are also required to wear a GPS wristband. An alert is sent to the authorities if the wearer of the wristband moves more than 15 metres from the relevant phone.

Removing the wristband or tampering with it can result in a minimum jail sentence of three months, and/or a fine of 10,000 dinars ($26,000).

There will also be spot checks, Gulf News says. The health ministry can demand selfies from quarantined people showing both their face and the wristband.

All this is highly intrusive and in some ways scary, though in the current situation its use can be defended on the grounds that it helps to protect the public from a potentially deadly illness. But once the plague has passed the technology can't be uninvented. It will still be there, available for other purposes.

April 10
Bahrain: Shopping malls and some other businesses are re-opening today, but with restrictions. Staff and customers must wear face masks, steps are being taken to maintain social distancing and there is to be "continuous sterilisation". Theatres, sports centres, swimming pools, shish cafes, salons and tourist sites will remain closed adm restaurants are limited to deliveries and takeaways.

April 14
Arab states in the Gulf are reporting large numbers of new Covid-19 infections among migrant workers.

● In Bahrain, foreign labourers account for almost half the confirmed cases – more than 600 have tested positive.

● In Kuwait, 679 of the 1,300 confirmed cases are reported to be Indian workers.

● In Saudi Arabia, according to the health minister, "most cases" have arisen in migrant worker communities and other densely populated areas. "We have noticed an increase in coronavirus infections in the accommodation of workers and we called upon them to apply the highest degree of precaution," the minister said.

Migrant workers are especially vulnerable to infection because they often live in compounds with shared sleeping quarters where it's impractical to follow the precautions urged by governments.

Journalist Ben Hubbard takes a detailed look at their problems in an article for the New York Times.

Hubbard quotes a Kenyan oil worker in Qatar (interviewed by phone) as saying he shares a room in a company compound with three others, in a ward with only six bathrooms for 450 men: “Crowding is the problem, and washing hands is almost unrealistic.”

His company provides food, but in a communal dining hall. “It is not in any way social distancing,” the worker says.


Egypt

February 25
On February 14 the Ministry of Health announced one "confirmed" case involving a non-Egyptian. On 19 February the ministry said the person had tested negative. This has been widely interpreted as meaning the person had recovered (rather than being wrongly diagnosed initially).

February 27
Flights to and from China, which were suspended by Egyptair on 1 February had been due to resume on Friday but on Thursday the airline announced that it was pushing back the resumption date to 14 March.

February 28
The health minister said on Thursday that people arriving in Egypt by air or sea are being tested and that anyone suspected of having the virus will be quarantined for 14 days. Those arriving from countries where the virus has spread are being checked periodically for 14 days if the initial test is negative.

March 1
Six French travellers – members of a tour group that visited Egypt during the first half of February – have been diagnosed with the virus after returning to France. In Canada, a man with "a travel history to Egypt" has also tested positive after presenting himself at a hospital. At present it's unclear whether these people caught the virus from fellow-travellers or residents of Egypt. Either way, it could have a serious impact on Egypt's economically important tourism industry. So far, the Egyptian authorities are not revealing where the tourists stayed but they say workers at the relevant location are being checked.

March 2
One new case was confirmed on Monday morning by the health ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

March 3
A few details have emerged about Egypt's second confirmed coronavirus case which was reported on Monday. He is described as a "foreign expert" working for an oil company in the north-west of the country. The Egyptian authorities have repeatedly denied allegations that they are concealing a number of other cases. On Monday the Egypt Watch website claimed that some are being treated in military hospitals which – since they don't come under the aegis of the health ministry – are not being reported to the World Health Organisation. There is no independent confirmation of this claim.

March 4
Mindful of the effects on tourism, the authorities have been less than transparent. On Tuesday the Mada Masr website published a lengthy article which gives the most detailed account of the situation so far.

March 5
The Egyptian authorities' attitude continues to cause concern. A lack of transparency has led to claims that new cases are being concealed – which the regime has repeatedly denied. On Sunday Qatar announced that it was banning all arrivals from Egypt, except for returning Qatari citizens. Shortly afterwards, Kuwait said it would be testing all travellers from Egypt before departure and again on arrival in Kuwait. Those actions appear to have been based on fears that the Sisi regime was mishandling the situation (see March 2 update). On Wednesday, in what appears to be more of a political move than a medical one, Egypt retaliated by banning Qataris from entering the country. A statement following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday said Egypt had decided to "implement the principle of reciprocity". There have been no direct flights between Egypt and Qatar since June 2017 when Egypt sided with Saudi Arabia and the UAE in their dispute with Qatar.

March 6
Egypt reported its third case – the first involving an Egyptian citizen. The new case is a 44-year-old man who arrived from Serbia after a 12-hour transit stay in France. He later developed symptoms and presented himself at a hospital.

March 7
Egypt detected 12 new cases among the crew of a Nile cruise ship. Checks were carried out after the WHO informed the Egyptian authorities that a Taiwanese-American tourist who had been on board the ship tested positive after returning home. The Egypt Independent reports that crew members had been tested during the previous 13 days and the results came back negative. It was not until the fourteenth day that the crew members tested positive and they were then quarantined. They are said to show no symptoms.

March 8
Thirty-three new cases were reported on board the Nile cruise ship, River Anuket, in addition to the 12 detected earlier. Officials say all 45 are being transferred to isolation in hospital. Nineteen of those infected are said to be non-Egyptians. The vessel was reportedly carrying more than 150 passengers and crew.

March 9
Egypt has reported its first coronavirus death – a 60-year-old German tourist. According to the health ministry the total of confirmed cases has now reached 55.

March 10
Egypt reported four new cases – three of them at a hotel near Cairo airport. An Egyptian man has also tested positive in Saudi Arabia while apparently on a trip to Mecca. Following an emergency meeting the Egyptian government has announced a ban on large gatherings. It also opened a coronavirus testing centre which – not unexpectedly – resulted in large gatherings of people wanting to be tested. Meanwhile, the authorities have issued a warning against con artists posing as government officials who claim to be able to disinfect people's homes. The much-ridiculed health minister, Hala Zayed, has again praised her ministry's efforts, asserting that Egypt is capable of overcoming and combating any viruses.

March 14
Egypt reported 13 new cases – five Egyptians and eight foreigners.

March 16
Of the 16 most recent new cases, eight are reported to be Egyptians and the other eight are foreigners of various nationalities. All are said to have been in contact with previously confirmed cases, apart from an Egyptian returning from Italy.

March 17
Egypt reported 40 more cases, bringing the official total to 166. The health ministry says eight of the new cases are Egyptians who returned from pilgrimages in Saudi Arabia.

A 72-year-old German tourist died in Luxor and a 50-year-old Egyptian died in Daqahliyah on the Nile delta. More than 300 families have now been quarantined in Daqahliyah.

Schools and universities are suspended and airports will be closed from March 19. A campaign has been launched to sterilise hotels.

Large numbers of government employees are being told to work at home, with the exception of those in the the health sector, transportation, water, sewage and electricity.

March 18
The Egyptian government has accused reporters from the Guardian and the New York Times of violating "all the rules of journalistic work" in connection with the country's coronavirus epidemic.

The Sisi regime's State Information Service said on Wednesday it was withdrawing the accreditation of the Guardian's Cairo correspondent and also warned the New York Times over tweets posted by its local bureau chief.

News media in Egypt have been told they can only report information about coronavirus cases that has been provided by the government.

On Sunday, the Guardian published a report by its correspondent, Ruth Michaelson, which said "Egypt is likely grappling with a higher rate of coronavirus infections than official figures". There are plenty of reasons for believing this is true (see previous updates).

The current official figure for confirmed cases in Egypt is 196 but Michaelson's article cited research by infectious disease specialists from Toronto university suggesting there could be more than 19,000 undetected cases.

The article added that the Egyptian health ministry had been invited to comment on this but did not respond.

The State Information Service says it has also issued a warning to Declan Walsh of the New York Times who had posted several tweets about the Toronto university study.

The researchers have since said 19,000 undetected cases could be an overestimate and the actual figure may be as low as 6,000. Even so, this would mean the Egyptian authorities face an enormous problem which they have so far denied or failed to recognise.

A group of 73 Egyptian scientists have written to Toronto university accusing the researchers of "causing significant damage to Egyptian society".

March 20
Egypt: Although early cases were mostly linked to tourism and foreigners, the virus now appears to be spreading in the general community. Of the latest 46 cases, only four involve foreigners. The other 42 are all Egyptians who, according to the health ministry, were in contact with others who tested positive earlier.

March 22

Egypt confirmed nine new cases – all of them Egyptians. Two elderly people are reported to have died in Giza, bringing Egypt's death toll to ten.

March 24
Egypt: Government media reported the deaths of two senior military figures: Maj Gen Khaled Shaltout and Maj Gen Shafia Abdel Halim Dawood. Both are said to have "died while fighting the coronavirus", and there are suggestions these are not the only cases among the military. Meanwhile, the interior ministry has dismissed rumours that a curfew is coming.

March 25
Egypt: A night-time curfew is due to come into force at 7pm today (details here). Non-compliance is likely to be a problem. According to the WHO representative in Egypt, the country is at a crossroads "and failure to abide by the state’s instructions could lead to a scenario similar to Italy and Spain".

March 26
Egypt: At least 15 people died in Giza when a lorry crashed into a line of vehicles stopped at a checkpoint on the first night of the country's night-time curfew. The people in the stationary vehicles were claiming exemption from the curfew and had been queuing to have their papers checked.

March 27
Anyone who still doubts that Egypt is heading for a coronavirus catastrophe should take a look at this picture. It shows the health minister setting the worst possible example by holding a news conference in a room packed with more than 50 people.

It's generally believed that Egypt has far more cases than the official figure (currently 495) suggests, and the Guardian's correspondent in Cairo, Ruth Michaelson, has now been forced to leave the country for writing about a scientific study which said so.

Meanwhile – presumably in the forlorn hope of attracting tourists back, they have been sweeping the area around the pyramids and spraying it with disinfectant.

Of course, there's a night-time curfew but here are some examples via Twitter of what happens during the daytime ...

April 1
Egypt's efforts to control the spread of coronavirus are "good and reassuring", President Sisi claimed yesterday as the authorities reported 54 new cases and five more deaths.

"In light of my following-up around the clock on all efforts and measures taken to confront the spread of coronavirus, I believe that what has been achieved so far is good and reassuring,” Sisi said.

Officially, there have been only 760 cases in Egypt but it's widely believed that many more are undetected or unannounced. Last week the Guardian's correspondent in Cairo, Ruth Michaelson, was forced to leave the country after writing about a scientific study which said the real numbers probably run into the thousands.

The regime's own figures show there are outbreaks in at least 19 of the country's 27 governorates.

Although a night-time curfew has been imposed along with other restrictions, during the daytime social distancing is difficult to maintain and the authorities have not been setting a good example. Last week the health minister held a news conference in a room packed with more than 50 journalists.

Meanwhile, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris says the country faces economic collapse if people don't return to work on 8 April – the date when the curfew is supposed to end.

"Even if people get sick, they will recover," he said, adding that the virus "only kills 1% of patients, who are mostly elderly people".

Based on the official figures, Egypt's current death rate is actually 6.5% – the same as that in Iran.

April 2
The Egyptian authorities have been taking exception to suggestions that there are far more coronavirus cases in the country than official figures reveal. Last week, the Guardian's correspondent in Cairo was forced to leave after writing about a scientific study which said the real numbers probably run into thousands. 

However, an article posted on the Mada Masr website yesterday sheds some more light on the situation. Its author, Hossam Bahgat, reports that a decision was made in mid-March to ration testing.

"Faced with the fact that Egypt, like most countries, doesn’t have the necessary capacity to conduct large-scale testing, the government decided to ration tests, running them only on cases that fit the COVID-19 'case definition' specified by the [health] ministry’s scientific committee," Bahgat writes.

What this meant in practice was that people would only be tested if they showed symptoms and had been in contact with a known positive case or had arrived from a country with a high infection count.

The aim of this was to conserve the relatively scarce supply of test kits. Bahgat quotes an official as saying: "It’s not that we don’t have the money to buy the tests, but Egypt is standing in a long queue, which includes the United States and all of Europe, to acquire testing kits."

Nevertheless, by 25 March, the authorities had carried out 25,000 tests, according to the health minister. Since then, more kits have become available and with support from WHO and others, Egypt "now has the capacity to conduct up to 200,000 tests".

The question still to be answered is whether test-rationing has led to a large number of undiagnosed cases that could spread the virus further.

Egyptian officials say this is unlikely, based on the results of the 5,000 tests carried out before rationing was introduced. 

The Mada Masr article says the 5,000 were "people exposed to positive cases; health workers in hospitals where cases were confirmed; workers who were required to be tested before traveling to Gulf countries (before these countries closed travel with Egypt) and walk-ins who requested to take the test at government labs". 

It quotes an official as saying: “We treated these tests as close to a random sample of 5,000 people and studied the results, of which the vast majority were negative. More importantly, we managed to trace the index case [original source] for confirmed infections.”

The authorities claim they have been successful in tracing infection chains back to their source – which is said to be the main reason for their relative confidence.

So long as they are able to continue tracing sources, Egypt's outbreak is regarded by the WHO as being at the "local transmission stage". If they become unable to trace the chains of transmission it will shift to the "community transmission stage" – which is far more serious.

"If we get cases of individuals who haven’t been exposed to any known positive case and who haven’t traveled to a country with an outbreak, then we can say that there are infections that we’re not aware of," an official is quoted as saying.

As a further check for undiagnosed cases, the health ministry has instructed officials issuing death certificates to flag those where the death involves symptoms that could be coronavirus.

April 5
Egypt's health minister, Hala Zayed, arrived in Italy yesterday for a "solidarity" visit, together two military planes bringing medical aid from Egypt.

Her trip was reportedly ordered by President Sisi who on Saturday posted a tweet offering to provide "all possible support" to "the governments and people of the whole world" in the battle against coronavirus.

Despite the doubts expressed by others, Sisi appears confident that the situation in Egypt is under control. Last week he described the country's efforts to check the spread of the virus as "good and reassuring".

However, a lack of transparency has fuelled fears that the regime faces a bigger problem than it is willing to admit. For example, the health ministry has given no information about doctors or other medical staff who have been infected in the course of their work.

Last week the Egyptian doctors' syndicate sent a letter to the ministry which said:

“Due to the infection of several doctors while doing their job combating the coronavirus, the syndicate requests the regular disclosure of data on infected doctors and their health status, in order to communicate with their families and provide the necessary syndicate assistance.”

On Saturday the director of the National Cancer Institute in Cairo said fifteen medical staff – three doctors and 12 nurses – have been infected with coronavirus. Efforts are being made to trace patients who were in contact with them.

April 9
Egypt: The night-time curfew imposed on March 25 has been extended until April 23. However, it will now begin at 8pm rather than 7pm. The later start is apparently to reduce overcrowding on public transport as people return home from work.

The daily numbers of confirmed cases in Egypt continue to rise. The cumulative total is now 1,560 but there are doubts about the official figures.

April 10
Egypt: A video posted online shows President Sisi at a construction site reprimanding the supervisor for not making his workers wear face masks – though Sisi wasn't wearing one either.

April 12
Police in Egypt used tear gas on Saturday to disperse protesters who were trying to prevent the burial of a doctor who died after being infected by coronavirus. Ahram Online reports that 23 people were arrested.

It was the second attempt to bury the 64-year-old female doctor. Residents in her home town had refused to let her be buried there and the funeral was then switched to her husband's home town.

Protesters blocked the road to the cemetery, claiming that her burial would spread coronavirus in the area. This appears to be a widespread belief in Egypt and Ahram Online says the burials of coronavirus victims often take place in secret, supervised by police.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian doctors' syndicate has been struggling to get information from the government about the numbers of doctors and other medical staff infected with coronavirus. The syndicate has so far identified 43 cases, including three deaths.

May 4

At the end of March, President Sisi hailed Egypt's efforts to combat the coronavirus epidemic as "good and reassuring". Amid such confidence, his regime even made a show of sending medical aid to worse-hit countries such as Italy and the United States.

Now, little more than a month later, the regime has publicly admitted that the picture isn't so bright. Even if you trust the official figures (and many don't), infections and deaths in Egypt have multiplied tenfold since Sisi pronounced himself reassured.

Officials concede that Egypt's epidemic has still to reach its peak. According to a government committee the peak will come in about three weeks, coinciding with the end of Ramadan and the festival of Eid al-Fitr.

In mid-April the minister of planning outlined several scenarios, saying there was a 50% chance the epidemic would end in September and a 30% chance it would last until December.

On Saturday, though, health minister Hala Zayed appeared to throw those predictions out of the window. Egypt, she said, will simply have to coexist with the virus until a vaccine is found.

The tone has also shifted from the regime praising its own efforts to blaming the public for ignoring guidelines and failing to adapt.

"We do not want to be like Italy," Hossam Hosny, head of the health ministry's scientific committee, said on Saturday. “Unfortunately, there is no interest from citizens in taking precautionary measures against the coronavirus."

People's disregard for the guidelines has become worse since the start of Ramadan, he added. "I saw youth gatherings after Iftar and large numbers of children took to the streets, riding their bicycles, as if we were on vacation, as if they were in happy times."

Social distancing is difficult to maintain in Egypt, even for those who take the Covid-19 threat seriously (and there are many who don't). But the regime has made things worse by its lack of transparency, its repeated assurances that the situation was under control and its condemnation or punishment of those who suggested otherwise.

This is a regime that can throw a young man into jail for helping to make a satirical video – and allow him to die there – while shying away from confrontation with those who violate the coronavirus restrictions.

At the weekend it was reported that three people have been referred to to the courts for holding a party during curfew hours but Ahram Online points out that this is the first time the public prosecutor has taken such action since the restrictions were imposed.

Meanwhile, the authorities are seeking to reactivate Egypt's economically important tourism sector. Hotels can reopen so long as they keep below 25% room occupancy, the tourism minister said on Sunday. But there are a lot of new regulations to go with this, making it unlikely that the countless small hotels frequented by ordinary Egyptian travellers will be able to comply.

In particular, hotels are being told they must provide their own clinic with a doctor and personal protection equipment. This may be an option for the big international hotels but they will be lucky if they come anywhere near the 25% occupancy ceiling. Commercial flights to Egypt were suspended on March 19 and foreign tourists are unlikely to be in any hurry to return when they resume.


Iraq

February 25
The Ministry of Health announced four new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to five. The four – all in Kirkuk and all members of the same family – had recently returned from Iran. The first case, involving an Iranian student in Najaf, was reported on Monday. Border crossings with Iran have been closed and flights suspended.

February 27
A young Iraqi man who had travelled from Iran has been confirmed as Iraq's sixth case. This latest case occurred in Baghdad. The previously confirmed Iraqi cases have been in Kirkuk and Najaf. On Wednesday the authorities announced that more than 8,000 Iraqis who recently visited Iran are being tested for the virus.

February 26
Iraq has reported no new cases. In Najaf, where an Iranian student at a Shia seminary was diagnosed with the virus on Monday, the Imam Ali mausoleum – a major pilgrimage site – has been closed to visitors. Schools and universities in Najaf province have been closed for at least the next 10 days. A ban on travellers from China and Iran was extended on Tuesday to include Thailand, South Korean, Japan, Italy and Singapore.

February 28
One new case – involving a 51-year-old man who was recently in Iran – has been confirmed, bringing the total to seven.

February 29
Iraq reported one new case – a 35-year-old woman who recently returned from Iran.

March 1
The health ministry reported five new cases on Saturday – four in Baghdad and one in Babel province. All five are said to have been in quarantine after returning from visits to Iran. All 13 of Iraq's known cases – 12 of whom are Iraqis – have been linked to travel in Iran. The first case to be confirmed in Iraq was that of an Iranian student who has reportedly been "sent back" to Iran.

March 2
The Kurdistan Regional Government reported four cases of coronavirus in Sulaimani, the first in the Kurdish region. Three of the four are from the same family; the fourth person is unrelated. Two further cases were reported in Baghdad, bringing Iraq's total to 19.

March 3
The health ministry reported two new cases in Baghdad involving people who had returned from Iran. The Kurdistan Regional Government also reported that a relative of three people diagnosed earlier had tested positive.

March 4
Iraq reported nine new cases in various parts of the country, bringing the total to 31. Most are said to involve people who returned from Iran. The first death was reported on Wednesday morning – a 70-year-old cleric who had been quarantined in Sulaymaniyah.

March 5
Iraq has now reported three deaths attributed to coronavirus. So far, these are the only reported deaths in the Middle East outside Iran. The first death was reported on Wednesday morning – a 70-year-old cleric in Sulaymaniyah. Although the man had been quarantined, the health ministry said later that he had "several chronic diseases" and it could not confirm coronavirus as the cause of his death. The two deaths reported later on Wednesday were those of a man and a woman in Baghdad.

March 6
Iraq has so far reported three deaths linked to the virus. The official WHO figure is two deaths. One appears to have been discounted because although the man was in quarantine he may have died from other causes.

March 7
The health ministry is not providing figures on its website. In a Facebook post on Friday, the ministry reported eight new cases – five in Baghdad and two in Sulaymaniyah – but it gave no cumulative total and at least one of the "new" cases appears to have been reported before. Friday's situation report from the WHO gave the Iraqi total as 36 but a later update on Twitter from the WHO regional office gave it as 38.

March 8
Once again, there are conflicting figures. The most recent cumulative total from the World Health Organisation is 54 cases. China is reported to be sending medical supplies and a specialist team to train Iraqis.

March 9
The number of deaths has risen to six, according to the state news agency. The World Health Organisation's latest total for the number of coronavirus cases in Iraq is 61.

March 10
Iraq announced six new cases – in Najaf, Basra, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah. A total of seven deaths have been reported, the latest involving a 74-year-old man who had returned from heart surgery in Iran three days earlier. Government offices are closed in Basra and the Kurdish area. Najaf province, a magnet for Shia pilgrims, will be closed to non-residents from Wednesday.

March 14
In a post on Facebook, the Iraqi health ministry said the cumulative total of confirmed cases had reached 93. The virus appears to be widely distributed: the 10 most recent cases were in six different places. Details of restrictions on activities and movement in Iraq can be found in another of the health ministry's Facebook posts.

March 16
The health ministry reported 14 new cases, bringing the total to 124.

March 19
The health ministry reported six new cases. They were identified among 105 samples from "suspected cases in hospitals in the various governorates". Given the conditions in Iraq, large numbers of other cases are almost certainly going undetected.

March 21
Iraq: The health ministry has produced a map showing the distribution of cases around the country. The red numbers are confirmed cases, the green numbers show those who have recovered and the black numbers show deaths.

CLICK HERE to enlarge

March 26
Iraq: Some of the economic consequences of coronavirus in Iraq are discussed in an article for Al-Monitor by Iraqi writer Omar al-Jaffal.

April 16
A couple of weeks ago Reuters news agency reported that Iraq probably has several thousand more Covid-19 cases than the official figures show. Its report quoted three doctors closely involved in the testing process, a health ministry official and a senior political official – all speaking anonymously because they had been told not to talk to journalists.

Their collective view was that between 3,000 and 9,000 people have been infected in Iraq. The official total at the time of the report was 772 cases, with 54 deaths.

The Iraqi authorities acknowledge that there are unrecorded cases because testing facilities are limited, but the Reuters story went further. It said security officials had urged the health ministry not to reveal the high figures "because it could create public disorder with a rush on medical supplies, and make it harder to control the disease’s spread".

As a result of this story, Iraq's Communications and Media Commission has now suspended Reuters' licence to operate in the country for three months and imposed a fine of 25 million dinars ($21,000). This is reminiscent the Sisi regime's action in March when it withdrew the accreditation of the Guardian's Cairo correspondent for citing research that questioned Egypt's official figures.

While it's entirely possible that Iraq's figures have been massaged at the behest of security officials, there is also social resistance to recording Covid-19 cases, as medical anthropologist Omar Dewachi explained earlier this month.

Stigmatisation is one reason why people don't want Covid-19 cases to be diagnosed, he said during a webinar hosted by the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. Families are avoided and stigmatised by their neighbours if one of their members is known to have been infected.

This also applies to deaths. "People are dying in their home without it being reported to the officials that this is a Covid-related death, or [the family] will not allow government officials to come and test," he said. "There has been a lot of reaction from cemeteries rejecting to bury people who have Covid-19, with some kind of fears or belief that the epidemic will move through the earth and spread within the community."

A similar situation arose in Egypt last week when demonstrators tried to prevent the burial of a doctor who had died after being infected with Covid-19.

Dewachi, who is the author of a book on the Iraqi healthcare system, said the system is broken after being undermined for decades and people have lost trust in it. Officials who try to take someone into quarantine are likely to meet with resistance. "There is a lot of suspicion around this issue of 'Where are you going to take our family member?'," he said.

"The suspicion also has to do with the history of how healthcare quarantine cases have been dealt with over the past decades." he continued. "I worked in Iraq as a physician in the 1990s during the HIV/AIDS epidemic." At the time, people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS were sent to an isolation hospital that was guarded by the state, with armed men posted outside, he said.


Israel

February 25
The Ministry of Health announced on Friday that one of 11 Israelis who had flown home after being quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan had tested positive. A second case, from the same ship, was reported on Sunday.

February 27
Israel is banning the entry of foreign nationals who have been in China, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and South Korea during the last two weeks. The Ministry of Health is urging Israelis not to travel to Italy and says any who returned from Italy after 16 February should be isolated at home for two weeks.

February 28
Israel confirmed a new case on Thursday, bringing the total to three. The latest one is an Israeli man who flew back from Milan on 23 February and has since developed symptoms. He was not previously in quarantine. The Times of Israel reports that a 40-year-old man who recently returned from Thailand was arrested for breaking quarantine to visit his relatives. A court later ordered his release.

February 29
Israel reported four new cases on Friday, including the first known case of person-to-person transmission inside the country: the wife of a man who had returned from Italy with the virus. Two Israeli men who recently returned from Italy have also tested positive. The fourth new case was an Israeli cruise ship passenger who had been released from hospital in Japan. He returned home on a commercial flight after apparently being given the all-clear in Japan but tested positive shortly after arriving in Israel.

March 2
Israel reported three more cases on Sunday. Two of them are members of a family who arrived from Italy on Thursday. Passengers who were on the same flight have been told to isolate themselves at home for two weeks. The third newly-diagnosed person is employed at a toy shop where a co-worker tested positive earlier after returning from Italy. This brings Israel's cumulative total to 10 cases.

March 3
Israel reported two new cases, bringing the total to 12. The two people affected had returned from Italy towards the end of February.

March 4
Israel reported three new cases, bringing the total to 15. One is a part-time worker in a toy shop and another is a customer who reportedly spent only 15 minutes in the shop. The shop's manager was diagnosed earlier, having apparently caught the virus during a visit to Italy. The third new case is a person who had been quarantined at home after returning from Italy.

March 6
Israel has so far reported 17 confirmed cases. One of Thursday's two new cases was a resident of Israel who arrived from Venice on EasyJet flight EJ3342 last Saturday. Other passengers on the same flight have been urged to go into home quarantine. The other new case was a tour bus driver in Jerusalem who had recently driven tourist groups from Greece, Spain and Germany.

March 7
Israel confirmed four new cases on Friday, bringing the total to 21. The Jerusalem Post reported that 70,000 people are now in isolation at home. Of the 21 known cases, 13 appear to have contracted the virus in Europe and the authorities announced that anyone arriving in Israel from Germany, Spain, France, Switzerland or Austria must go into immediate quarantine. Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SWISS are suspending flights to Israel. Meanwhile, Israeli police say they are cracking down on people who don't comply with the quarantine regulations. Violators could face seven years in jail.

March 9
Israel now has 39 cases – an increase of 14. Meanwhile, Uri Geller, the spoon-bending Israel magician, is promoting a conspiracy theory about the origin of the virus.

March 10
The number of coronavirus cases in Israel has doubled during the last two days and now stands at 50. This prompted prime minister Netanyahu to announce that everyone entering the country, including Israelis returning from abroad, must go into self-quarantine for two weeks. Foreigners will have to prove that they have made adequate arrangements for this.

Israel's situation is also entwined with that of the Palestinians. The first cases on the West Bank were confirmed on March 5, resulting in the lockdown of Bethlehem. On Monday the Palestinian authorities reported five new cases – four in Bethlehem and one in Tulkarem, bringing the total to 25. Consultations are said to be taking place with Jordan (and probably Israel too) about a possible closure of the bridge between Jordan and the West Bank.

March 13
Israel is closing schools and universities from today. An article in Haaretz newspaper describes the government's preparations to deal with potentially thousands of seriously ill coronavirus patients. According to the health ministry, 2,479 healthcare workers are now in quarantine.

March 15
Israel is at war with an invisible enemy and will use counter-terrorism technology to track coronavirus carriers, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Saturday. Meanwhile, non-urgent court cases are being postponed as a preventive measure – which means Netanhayu's corruption trial, which was due to start on Tuesday, will not now take place before May.entially thousands of seriously ill coronavirus patients. According to the health ministry, 2,479 healthcare workers are now in quarantine.

March 16
Governments in the Middle East are resorting to increasingly extreme measures in their attempts to control the spread of COVID-19. On Saturday, Binyamin Netanyahu declared that Israel is at war with an invisible enemy and will use counter-terrorism technology to track carriers. Details have now emerged as to how this will be done.

When someone tests positive, the Shin Bet security service will check their mobile phone records to see where they have been during the previous 14 days. Shin Bet will then check other phone records and people who are found to have been in the "vicinity" of the infected person will receive a text message telling them to self-quarantine.

According to Haaretz newspaper, this has been approved by the Israeli cabinet and the attorney general and surveillance can be carried out without a court order.

March 19
Of the 433 diagnosed cases, 260 are hospitalised but only six are said to be in a serious condition. The IDF reported that nine soldiers have tested positive, mostly after returning from holidays abroad. A further 5,630 – career soldiers or those in mandatory service – are in quarantine. In the Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit, police dispersed a crowd of about 150 celebrating a wedding. The health ministry has forbidden gatherings of more than 10 people and one person from the wedding was detained for questioning.

March 20
The number of people in Israel known to have been infected with coronavirus rose by 56% yesterday with the confirmation of 501 new cases.

Israel's cumulative total – 677 cases since the outbreak began – is now the highest in the Middle East apart from Iran (though it's still a very long way below Iran's total).

The relatively high numbers in Israel are partly a result of extensive testing. Iraq, for example, probably has a worse coronavirus problem but the official number of cases is lower because there is far less testing.

One particular problem in Israel is compliance. Significant numbers of people are not taking the situation seriously. The Jerusalem Post reports:

"Police opened criminal investigations against 92 people who allegedly violated quarantine instructions by the Health Ministry, and arrested three people who were actively violating it. One man was arrested three times after he continued to break his quarantine."

Similarly with the rules for social distancing. Although gatherings of more than 10 people are forbidden, police had to break up a crowd of about 150 attending an ultra-Orthodox settler wedding.

On Thursday, in an effort to combat non-compliance, caretaker prime minister Netanyahu announced that the existing restrictions on movement are now legally enforceable and anyone who breaks them will be fined.

"There has not been anything like this since the establishment of the state," Netanyahu said. "There has actually been no such thing like this in the last 100 years ... It is not going to be easy; I am asking for your cooperation.”

The Jerusalem Post also reports that the Israeli military are "preparing to assist the police to enforce a quarantine should a full nationwide lockdown be imposed".

To help protect the military from infection a "capsule" system is being used in which all troops on each shift remain completely separate from the others. "Troops will also be asked to refrain from taking public transportation; as such, the military will provide buses in which no more than 25 soldiers will travel at a time," the Jerusalem Post says.

The military are already involved in a variety of ways. They are helping the police and the health ministry to run a quarantine centre and their Intelligence Technology Unit is helping to produce face masks and adapting 50 vans to shield the drivers when carrying infected patients.

The defence ministry announced that it has purchased 2,500 ventilators, though these will not arrive until mid-May.

Meanwhile the Mossad is trying to help raise the number of tests carried out from 2,000 a day to 5,000. On Wednesday, 100,000 test kits arrived in Israel, procured by the Mossad from unnamed sources. Unfortunately they were all missing an essential component – the special liquid that the test sticks have to be dipped in. Without it they are useless.

March 21
Israel: The first death to be reported was that of a 88-year-old man living in sheltered accommodation. Fifteen other people are said to be in a serious condition. In Ar'ara, one of a group of Arab towns in an area known as the Triangle, police broke up three large weddings and detained the organisers on the grounds of breaking the rules for social distancing.

March 23
Israel has confirmed 289 new cases in the last 24 hours, but the health ministry had been predicting a rapid rise because of increased testing. Initially the ministry was testing about 750 people per day but by the weekend this had risen to more than 5,000 and the aim is to increase it to 10,000 per day within the next two weeks.

March 25
Israel is introducing further regulations from this evening, and violators are to be punished with fines of 500 shekels ($137) or suspended jail sentences:

  1. People will only be allowed to go on short walks within 100 metres of their homes.

  2. Public transport will be drastically reduced; private taxis will be available, but are limited to one passenger.

  3. Only two people may travel in a car at one time and they may only be traveling to or from an approved place of work or to the grocery store, pharmacy or a medical appointment.

  4. Attending weddings or other religious ceremonies is allowed if there are no more than 10 participants and two-metre distancing rules are followed.

  5. Going to the mikvah is allowed, as long as arrangements have been made in advance.

March 30
In Israel on Sunday, hundreds of people defied the social isolation rules to attend a funeral in the ultra-Orthodox town of Bnei Brak.

This non-compliance has prompted some strong criticism in Israeli media. The Jerusalem Post reports that ultra-Orthodox haredim account for as much as 50% of coronavirus patients hospitalised throughout the country. It quotes one doctor as saying: "Almost every haredi who is tested for the virus is found positive. There are families with 100% infection. The Health Ministry needs to go door to door, and take the sick from their homes. If not, in another few weeks, we will see them coming in by masses." [Continues here ...]

April 2
Israel: Prime minister Netanyahu, the heads of the Mossad and the National Security Council, and the director-general of the health ministry have all gone into quarantine after the health minister was diagnosed with the virus. The Jerusalem Post notes that this list of officials is "basically the top leadership in the country currently leading efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19."

With the start of Passover less than a week away, there are fears that it could lead to another surge in infections, especially among the ultra-Orthodox. Health ministry director-general Moshe Bar-Siman-Tov said: "We fear that if we won't adhere to the regulations on Passover – we will see another surge in the number of infected. Right now, we are paying the price for the events of Purim. We fear that the upcoming holiday may prompt very significant events of contagion, that is why we call on the public to adhere to the regulations. At the same time, we also keep increasing the number of tests conducted daily."

April 3
Israel is deploying armed paratroopers to seal off Bnei Brak, the country's largest coronavirus hotspot, where people are resisting isolation and social distancing on religious grounds (see previous report). The town, with a population of 200,000, is a major centre of ultra-Orthodox (haredi) Judaism.

The military will also be used to remove 4,500 people from Bnei Brak who are over the age of 80. The plan is to quarantine them in hotels run by the Home Front Command, which are being adapted "to fit the lifestyles of the haredi residents".

Meanwhile small-scale disturbances in Jaffa continued on Thursday. The trouble began on Wednesday in a largely Arab district when police arrested a man for allegedly violating quarantine regulations.

April 4
In a sudden reversal of policy, Israel's health ministry has announced a cutback in coronavirus testing. The World Health Organisation regards testing as an essential component in the battle against COVID-19 and Israel had been planning to increase testing levels to 10,000 a day by early next week. However, supplies of the essential chemical reagent are running low and in an effort to conserve them testing will, in effect, be rationed.

Under the ministry's new guidelines, people with typical coronavirus symptoms will not be tested unless they have been abroad during the previous two weeks.

Those without symptoms will only be tested if they have spent more than 15 minutes with a confirmed coronavirus patient or have returned from a country with a high rate of infections.

Meanwhile, there are calls for the dismissal of health minister Ya'acov Litzman, a follower of Hasidic Judaism. He is currently under fire for flouting his own ministry's rules on social distancing, and is reported to have attended group prayers on at least two occasions during the past week.

On Wednesday he was diagnosed with the virus, forcing prime minister Netanyahu, the heads of the Mossad and the National Security Council, and the director-general of the health ministry all to go into quarantine.

April 6
Israel has decided to impose further restrictions in selected areas, with details to be announced later today. The Jerusalem Post reports:

"Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] towns and cities continue to represent the hotspot of the coronavirus outbreak in Israel, with the highest number of confirmed cases per 100,000 people located in Efrat (656.1), Kiryat Yearim (634.4), Bnei Brak (622.5) and Kfar Habad (585.6).

"As of Monday morning, the two cities with the greatest number of confirmed cases were Jerusalem (1,316 cases) and Bnei Brak (1,222)."

April 7
At least three countries in the Middle East are resorting to technology based around mobile phones in their efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The three – Bahrain, Israel and the UAE – are using it in different ways but the underlying principle is the same in each of them. Mobile phones can tell the authorities where you are, and where you have been.

In the midst of an epidemic this can be used for several purposes: to check that people who are supposed to be in quarantine remain in quarantine, to detect others who are not observing the rules of social isolation, and to identify those who have been in contact with an infected person.

It began in Israel on March 14 when prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that the authorities would be relying on technology previously used for counter-terrorism purposes in order to track carriers of the disease.

This led to the revelation that the Shin Bet security service maintains a secret database known as "The Tool" which monitors the locations of all mobile phones and all the numbers called.

Aside from counter-terrorism, The Tool can be used to identify those who have been in the "vicinity" of anyone known to be infected and send them text message telling them to self-quarantine.

Ten days after Netanyahu's announcement, Shin Bet said its mass surveillance efforts had so far detected 500 contacts of coronavirus carriers.

While Israel is using technology to trace contacts, the United Arab Emirates is using it mainly to prevent flouting of the social isolation rules (see previous report).

In the UAE, people who are not classified as essential workers are forbidden to leave home without a permit. The process of applying for a permit (which has to be repeated for every trip outdoors) starts with registering the applicant's mobile phone number on a police website.

Applicants then have to provide details of where they want to go, what time they will set out, and what time they expect to return home. Records of the phone's location can be checked to see whether the user has complied with the permit.

Meanwhile, the government of Bahrain has launched a phone app called "BeAware Bahrain". The app is partly intended to give health information relating to the virus but it has other purposes too.

As in Israel, it will notify people if they come close to someone who is known to be infected.

It will also track people who are in compulsory home in quarantine – and in this case it is combined with GPS technology, which the Bahrainis believe will make it more effective.

According to Gulf News, users of the app must set their location via their phone when they start the quarantine but they are also required to wear a GPS wristband. An alert is sent to the authorities if the wearer of the wristband moves more than 15 metres from the relevant phone.

Removing the wristband or tampering with it can result in a minimum jail sentence of three months, and/or a fine of 10,000 dinars ($26,000).

There will also be spot checks, Gulf News says. The health ministry can demand selfies from quarantined people showing both their face and the wristband.

All this is highly intrusive and in some ways scary, though in the current situation its use can be defended on the grounds that it helps to protect the public from a potentially deadly illness. But once the plague has passed the technology can't be uninvented. It will still be there, available for other purposes.


Jordan

March 3
Jordan reported its first case on Monday – a Jordanian man who had arrived with a friend from Italy two weeks ago. The man's family and friend (who has so far tested negative) are in quarantine. The health ministry says that if the number of coronavirus cases in Jordan reaches 20, schools will be closed and public gatherings will be banned.

March 4
Jordan – which so far has only one confirmed case – says 54 people are currently quarantined after arriving from countries where there are outbreaks. A further 204 people have completed two weeks' quarantine without contracting the virus.

March 9
Jordan, with only one confirmed case so far, says 80 people are currently in quarantine. A further 221 have completed two weeks in quarantine and left after testing negative.

March 15
Jordan reported six new cases on Sunday morning – two Jordanians and four French tourists.

March 16
Jordan confirmed 12 new cases, bringing the total to 15. The central bank announced new measures which will inject $705m of extra liquidity to help businesses hit by the epidemic.

March 17
Jordan: The cases recorded so far involve 26 Jordanians, six French tourists and an Iraqi woman living in Jordan. One of the Jordanians has been re-diagnosed after reportedly recovering. On Thursday, Mohammad al-Hyari – who had apparently caught the virus in Italy – was photographed leaving hospital, accompanied by the health minister. As a result of his discharge Jordan was declared virus-free, but that didn't last long.

March 18
Flights in and out of the country have been suspended. The last two planes arrived from the US on Tuesday, repatriating Jordanians who must now spend time in quarantine. Altogether, more than 5,000 people are quarantined in Jordan at hotels in Amman, Aqaba and the Dead Sea area.

March 19
From today Jordan's capital, Amman, is sealed off by the military and movement between the country's 12 governorates is prohibited. There are also restrictions on movement within the governorates. This follows a royal decree activating activating Jordan's National Defence Law, intended mainly for times of war, which gives the prime minister extraordinary powers. As specified in the law, these powers include:

● Placing restrictions on the freedom of people to gather, move, reside, and arresting or detaining suspects or those who pose a threat to the national security and public order.

● Assigning any person to perform any work or service within their ability.

● Checking persons, places and vehicles without being bound by the provisions of any other law, and ordering the use of appropriate force in the event of opposition.

● Evacuating or isolating some areas and imposing curfew on them.

● Ordering some or all of public stores to open and close at specific times.

● Monitoring messages, newspapers, publications, pamphlets, drawings, and all means of expression, publicity and advertisement before they are published and seizing, confiscating, suspending, and closing the places where they were prepared.

● Preventing the manufacture, sale, purchase or possession of telecommunications equipment and ordering their delivery and seizure.

This doesn't necessarily mean all the powers set out in the law will be used, but potentially they could be.

In a letter to the prime minister, King Abdullah said the aim is to "protect the wellbeing of citizens", and that orders issued under the National Defence Law should "be within the most limited scope possible" without infringing Jordanians’ political and civil rights.

March 20
Jordan now has 69 confirmed cases. Among these, 50 are Jordanians. The others are six French nationals, four Iraqis, three British nationals, two Lebanese, two Argentinians and two from the Philippines.

March 21
Sirens sounded in Jordan at 7am this morning to mark the start of a strict round-the-clock curfew enforced by thousands of troops.

Shops are closed and anyone violating the curfew faces up to a year in jail. At least one person has already been arrested. The authorities say they will make an announcement on Tuesday about a partial lifting to allow people to do their shopping.

The curfew is a further extension of restrictions introduced earlier in the week which isolated various parts of the country by sealing off the capital, Amman, and each of the 12 regional governorates.

So far, Jordan has 84 confirmed coronavirus cases and the authorities are clearly taking very tough measures in an effort to stop infections spreading.

The latest moves come after King Abdullah activated the National Defence Law – intended mainly for times of war – which grants draconian powers to the prime minister (see previous report).

Tunisia has also imposed a curfew which started on Wednesday but lasts for only 12 hours – from 6pm to 6am.

March 22
Jordan: Since 7am on Saturday Jordan has been under a round-the-clock curfew which is being enforced by the military. By Saturday afternoon 392 people had been arrested for breaking the curfew – which could result in jail sentences of up to a year. The authorities say a curfew became necessary because people were not observing the rules for social distancing. The 15 most recent cases include five people who attended a wedding in Irbid.

March 24
Jordan: The authorities have given some details of how they plan to distribute food and other necessities during the round-the-clock curfew which has been in force since Saturday. The aim is to deliver to everyone's door so that people don't need to leave their homes. It sounds like a formidable task.

March 25
Jordan: Having imposed a round-the-clock curfew on Saturday, the Jordanian authorities have decided to let some shops re-open. The curfew had been meeting some resistance – hundreds of violators were arrested, including four who reportedly attacked a water delivery truck.

The extremely ambitious initial plan was to deliver food and other essentials directly to people's homes but it ran into practical difficulties. Photos and videos posted on the internet showed people queueing in the streets to collect bread when they were supposed to be isolated indoors.

As a result of this, small shops are being allowed to re-open from 10am to 6pm but the prime minister has warned they will be shut down again if people don't observe the rules for social distancing.

The Guardian has a report by Michael Safi on life in Jordan under the curfew.

April 19
Today, shops, businesses and government offices are re-opening in Jordan's southern province of Aqaba. This is the first step in what the government hopes will be a gradual return to something resembling normality in an area which is officially free of Covid-19 infections.

There are still some restrictions, though. Public transport remains suspended; schools, mosques, churches, wedding halls and restaurants remain closed, and movement in and out of Aqaba requires permission from the governor. The authorities, who have establised 40 inspection teams, say they will also intensify their monitoring of the situation.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic Jordan – with a population of around 10 million – is beginning to look like a success story. Since the outbreak began, 413 people have been diagnosed. Seven have died but most have now recovered, leaving only 137 "active" cases.

More significantly, the cumulative total of confirmed cases in Jordan has risen by a mere 8% over the past week. In the same period, the overall total among the Arab countries and Israel rose by more than 50%.

The result is that Jordan is now in the position many other countries would like to be in. It has reduced the outbreak to manageable proportions. The virus is still spreading – but very slowly – and the number of new cases is small enough for the authorities to follow them up closely by tracing and quarantining contacts.

The most obvious lesson from Jordan's experience is that prompt action saves lives. When the first case was detected on March 2 – a Jordanian man who had been in Italy – the health ministry announced that if/when the number of cases reached 20, schools would be closed and public gatherings banned.

Meanwhile, people arriving from affected countries were placed in immediate quarantine, and the government commandeered several hotels for the purpose.

By March 15, seven cases had been diagnosed and two days later the total had risen to 34. Flights in and out of the country were suspended and the number of people quarantined in hotels reached more than 5,000.

King Abdullah responded by activating Jordan's National Defence Law, intended mainly for times of war, which granted extraordinary – and sweeping – powers to the prime minister.

At 7am on March 21, sirens sounded throughout the country to mark the start of an open-ended round-the-clock curfew enforced by both police and the military. Considering the total of confirmed cases was only 84 at the time, this struck many as an extreme course of action but the government spokesperson said it was necessary in order to "spare the country a widespread infection" because people been ignoring earlier directives (five of the new cases involved people who had attended a wedding in Irbid, contrary to the rules).

Over the ensuing three days ordinary citizens were forbidden to step outside their homes but this proved difficult to enforce and more than a thousand people were arrested.

On March 24 the curfew was relaxed. Grocery shops and pharmacies were allowed to open for eight hours a day and people were allowed to move around – though only on foot. Prime minister Omar Razzaz warned that the shops would be closed again if the rules on social distancing were not observed.

Although the total curfew was impossible to maintain, as a shock tactic it does seem to have had the useful effect of making the Jordanian public take Covid-19 more seriously.

New cases continue to be detected but a combination of contact-tracing and testing seems to be keeping the numbers down, and this is seen as the country's first line of defence against the virus.

Of the six cases reported on Saturday, four were truck drivers who tested positive at the Jordanian border and were immediately taken to hospital. One was a child whose parents were already infected. The sixth case was discovered through random testing and is now being investigated.

There have also been encouraging signs from 1,972 tests carried out on Thursday, including 106 tests on truck drivers arriving from Saudi Arabia. All the results came back negative – as did those from 200 random tests carried out in the Zarqa and Sukhna refugee camps.

April 21
Jordan is taking further steps to ease restrictions amid signs that the country's Covid-19 outbreak is subsiding.

On Sunday, businesses and government offices were allowed to reopen in the southern province of Aqaba which has so far remained virus-free.

From today, a specified range of businesses can reopen in other parts of the country. These include shops selling stationery, jewellery and electrical supplies, along with shops that repair phones and computers.

Before reopening, these businesses must apply online for a government permit and will be subject to regulations aimed at preventing the spread of infection – such as reduced staffing levels.

The government has said they will be closed again if the coronavirus situation worsens but more sectors will be allowed to open if it continues to improve.

Tomorrow, the relaxation measures already introduced in Aqaba are due to be extended to three more provinces – Karak, Tafilah and Ma'an – which together with Aqaba cover the whole southern half of the country. The authorities have been carrying out random sampling in these areas, with encouraging results. For example, 900 tests in Karak last week all proved negative.

Looking further ahead, the government is also working on plans for a step-by-step restarting of the construction industry.

Altogether 425 Covid-19 cases have been diagnosed in Jordan since the outbreak began. Seven people have died and 282 have recovered – which leaves 136 "active" cases.

Changes in the number of active cases are a good indication of whether the virus is spreading or retreating. In Jordan it's currently static, with only minor fluctuations from day to day.

The cumulative total of confirmed cases continues to rise, but far more slowly than in many of the region's other countries. During the past week it has increased by only 9% compared with 83% in the Arab Gulf states.

Jordan's figure is even better than it looks, because very few new infections are occurring inside the country. Almost all the recent cases were detected at its borders – mainly among truck drivers coming from Saudi Arabia.

Jordan is reported to have 24 field teams monitoring the situation in the Aqaba area. Eight teams are checking arrivals in the province by road, sea and air. Twelve teams are carrying out random testing and four are monitoring "citizens' commitment to preventive guidance".

Compliance by the public is still a problem. Yesterday the Public Security Directorate said 755 people had been arrested for violating curfews in various parts of the country during the previous 24 hours and 238 vehicles were impounded. The impounded vehicles will be held for a month and owners will have to pay a fee to get them back.

April 22
Jordan: For the second day in a row, no new infections have been reported inside Jordan, which has begun lifting restrictions. The three cases reported yesterday were all intercepted at border entry points. A further 15 people are said to have recovered, reducing the number of "active" cases in the country to 124.

May 8

Among the Arab countries, Jordan has been one of the most successful in combating the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus. By Wednesday, 10 days had elapsed without any new infections coming to light inside the kingdom but now there's a sudden spate of new cases. Twenty-nine have been reported during the last couple of days in the Mafraq and Irbid provinces.

The source of all these infections is thought to be one man, and the way it came about shows how easily Covid-19 can return despite weeks of effort to suppress it.

Before the latest outbreak, transmission of the virus within Jordan appeared to have come to a halt and restrictive measures began to be lifted.

However, there were still a few problems at border crossing points. Truck drivers are routinely tested as they enter Jordan and so far this month 19 have tested positive.

A little more than two weeks ago, a Jordanian driver arriving from Saudi Arabia was tested at the Omari border crossing. The initial result was negative and he returned home to Mafraq. But when he was tested again after the 14-day quarantine period had passed, this time the test came back positive.

In the meantime, though, the driver had entertained guests at what is described as an Iftar banquet.

The driver and at least 21 other people are now in hospital, the driver's home district has been isolated and more than 100 contacts have been tested (with some of the results still awaited).

Seven cases linked to the Mafraq driver have also been confirmed in Irbid province where two buildings have been sealed off.

One of the driver's relatives who tested positive is a nurse working at the Northern Badia Hospital – which has resulted in preventive measures at the hospital and the testing of 40 staff.

May 9

Jordan announced new measures yesterday to stem the spread of Covid-19 infections from neighbouring Saudi Arabia. The move is in response to a new outbreak of the disease which was brought into Jordan by a cross-border truck driver.

The driver had been tested at the Omari checkpoint when crossing from Saudi Arabia into Jordan – as all drivers are. The initial result was negative and he returned to his home in Mafraq province after signing a pledge to quarantine himself for two weeks. A second test, 14 days later, came back positive and the driver is now in hospital.

Far from isolating himself, though, the driver hosted an Iftar banquet and had direct contact with about 140 people – at least 47 of whom are now infected. The resulting outbreak abruptly ended a 10-day period when no new infections had been detected inside the country.

In contrast to Jordan's relative success in controlling the virus, Saudi Arabia is currently reporting more than 1,000 new cases every day, and infected truck drivers have been arriving at the Jordanian border in a steady trickle – there were five yesterday.

The problem is not so much those who test positive but those whose infection is too recent to show up in the test. In theory, the quarantine period should take care of that but quarantine at home is fraught with risks if drivers don't observe the rules.

Yesterday the Jordanian government announced four new measures aimed at dealing with the situation:

1. Jordanian drivers returning from Saudi Arabia will now be quarantined at military schools in the Azraq area. This is a temporary arrangement while a special quarantine site "consisting of caravans and camps" is prepared near the Omari crossing.

2. Non-Jordanian drivers will be allowed to make their deliveries but will be escorted by security patrols until they return to the Saudi border.

3. To avoid jeopardising cross-border trade the number of drivers plying the route will need to be increased to allow for quarantining. There are more than 1,000 drivers working between the two countries and around a quarter of those cross the border every day. According to the Jordanians, both countries have agreed to "facilitate the granting and renewal of visas for truck drivers" so that more can take part.

4. The fourth measure is intended to discover forbidden gatherings – such as the Mafraq driver's banquet. According to the media affairs minister, the National Center for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM) has developed an electronic application called "Radar-C" with the ability to detect "all kinds of gatherings", identify their location and "enable the concerned agencies to take the necessary action".

This sounds rather similar to the Israeli system known as "The Tool" which monitors the locations of all mobile phones and all the numbers called.


Kuwait

February 25
The Ministry of Health announced three new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to eight. The latest three are said to have come from Iran and have been placed in quarantine. One of them is a Saudi citizen. Kuwait has suspended all flights to and from South Korea, Thailand, Italy and Iraq.

February 26
Kuwait reported a series of new cases, bringing the total to 26 by Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday Kuwait extended its travel restrictions to include Singapore and Japan. Kuwaitis arriving from those countries will be quarantined and non-Kuwaitis will be refused admission, even if they have valid visas. There are also restrictions on ship arrivals and parcel deliveries from affected countries. The government has commandeered Al-Khiran holiday resort, about 90km from Kuwait city, which it plans to use for quarantine purposes. 

February 27
Seventeen new cases have been confirmed, bringing the total to 43. This relatively large number – the highest among the Arab countries – may be explained by Kuwait's effort to bring its citizens back from Italy and Iran. Following a cabinet meeting on Thursday the government announced that all schools, colleges and universities, including military colleges and religious education centres, will be closed from 1 March until 12 March. The authorities are also taking steps to ensure adequate supplies of face masks and sanitising products. Kuwait's municipality says it will provide face masks and hand sanitisers for mourners at funerals (which often attract large crowds).

February 28
The health ministry reported two new cases on Friday. On Thursday, 22 Kuwaitis evacuated from Iran arrived back on a Qatar Airways flight from Shiraz and have been placed in quarantine.

February 29
Kuwait has organised a repatriation flight to bring citizens back from Thailand on Saturday.

March 1
Kuwait confirmed one new case on Sunday morning, involving a person who had been in Iran. Kuwait has been busy repatriating its citizens from countries where there are serious outbreaks. Five flights bringing Kuwaitis home from Iran, and one flight from Thailand, arrived on Saturday. Those coming from Iran are in quarantine and those from Thailand are under observation at home. Fifty-two Kuwaitis who have returned from Italy are also under observation.

March 2
Kuwait confirmed 10 more cases, bringing the total to 56. No further details are currently available.

March 4
Kuwait: The aviation authority announced new restrictions on non-Kuwaiti passengers arriving from 10 countries: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Georgia, India, Lebanon, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey. From March 8 they must obtain embassy-approved health certificates before flying. Kuwaiti citizens will be tested on arrival.

March 5
Kuwait reported two new cases, bringing the total to 58. Two elderly Kuwaiti women with pre-existing health conditions are in intensive care – one of them is critically ill. All other cases are said to be stable.

March 10
Kuwait has extended its school closures until March 26. Details of other preventive measures can be found here.

March 12
On Wednesday, Kuwait announced severe new restrictions which seem likely to shut down much of the country for the next two weeks:

  • All commercial passenger flights in and out of the country will be suspended from mid-day Friday until further notice.
  • Work in all government departments is suspended until March 29. This is being treated as "an official holiday".
  • Almost all bank branches will be closed until March 29. Each bank will be allowed to keep one branch open in each of the six governorates. Electronic services and ATM machines should be unaffected.
  • "Gatherings" at restaurants and cafes are banned and private sports clubs are to be shut down.
  • Merchants will be "penalised" if they take advantage of the situation by raising prices.

March 13
Kuwait has set up a new web page showing the latest statistics.

March 14
Kuwait confirmed 20 new cases – fifteen of them Kuwaitis who had been quarantined after returning from Iran. Two more were Kuwaitis who had returned from Britain and the US. The others were two Egyptians and a Spanish citizen. The health ministry says it has so far carried out 7,525 coronavirus tests.

March 17
The information minister announced that the administrators of 14 websites are to be prosecuted for "disseminating inaccurate news and rumours that were later refuted by the competent state agencies". The minister did not name the websites but indicated that the prosecutions relate to things they have said about coronavirus.

March 19
Of the 12 most recent cases, 10 have been linked to travel to Britain.

March 20
Kuwait is doing well on the testing front – it has carried out more than 27,000 tests.

March 23
Four Arab countries have now declared nationwide curfews in an effort to check the spread of coronavirus.

In Kuwait, a night-time curfew – from 5pm to 4am – came into effect on Sunday. The deputy prime minister said the move was regrettable but had become necessary because people were "failing to comply with the Ministry of Health’s instructions to stay indoors".

Violators face up to three years in jail and fines of 10,000 dinars ($32,000). People working in "vital sectors" are exempted and will be issued with special ID cards.

Saudi Arabia has announced a similar curfew – from 7pm to 6am – which will come into effect this evening. As in Kuwait, there are exceptions for "vital activities", which in the Saudi case include allowing muezzins to go to mosques and recite the call to prayer.

The Saudi move came amid growing evidence that large numbers of people have been ignoring the rules for self-isolation and social distancing.

In Jordan, where a round-the-clock curfew enforced by the military began on Saturday morning, more than a thousand violators have been arrested – 392 on Saturday and 693 on Sunday. They could face up to a year in jail.

The Jordan Times quotes media affairs minister Amjad Adaileh as saying the curfew may last for weeks and urging people to get used to "this new lifestyle".

The authorities haven't yet decided how to keep people supplied with food, medicines and other necessities but they are considering home delieveries because "allowing people to leave their homes for set periods of time may result in stampedes and crowding, which would counter the government’s preventive measures".

Tunisia has also imposed a night-time curfew which started on Wednesday and runs from 6pm to 6am.

April 9
Kuwait: Two districts – Jleeb al-Shuyoukh and Mahboula – have been under "complete isolation" since Monday. They are both described as "densely populated areas where poorer expatriate workers live". Meanwhile, some of the Kuwaitis quarantined in five-star hotels after returning from abroad have been complaining on social media about the quality of the food and service. The meat is said to be fatty and "staff are slow to clean up coffee stains".

April 10
Kuwait reported 55 new cases yesterday, though only five involved Kuwaiti citizens. Thirty-seven were Indians and the others were of Pakistani, Iranian, Nepalese, Egyptian and Syrian nationalities. This is a further sign that infections are spreading mainly among migrant workers. On Monday, Kuwait imposed "complete isolation" on two "densely populated areas where poorer expatriate workers live".

April 14
Arab states in the Gulf are reporting large numbers of new Covid-19 infections among migrant workers.

● In Bahrain, foreign labourers account for almost half the confirmed cases – more than 600 have tested positive.

● In Kuwait, 679 of the 1,300 confirmed cases are reported to be Indian workers.

● In Saudi Arabia, according to the health minister, "most cases" have arisen in migrant worker communities and other densely populated areas. "We have noticed an increase in coronavirus infections in the accommodation of workers and we called upon them to apply the highest degree of precaution," the minister said.

Migrant workers are especially vulnerable to infection because they often live in compounds with shared sleeping quarters where it's impractical to follow the precautions urged by governments.

Journalist Ben Hubbard takes a detailed look at their problems in an article for the New York Times.

Hubbard quotes a Kenyan oil worker in Qatar (interviewed by phone) as saying he shares a room in a company compound with three others, in a ward with only six bathrooms for 450 men: “Crowding is the problem, and washing hands is almost unrealistic.”

His company provides food, but in a communal dining hall. “It is not in any way social distancing,” the worker says.

April 17
Figures published by the Times of India yesterday show that among Indian citizens who have tested positive for Covid-19 while abroad, more than 60% are in the Gulf states. The paper listed the numbers of known cases:

Bahrain 135
Kuwait 785
Oman 297
Qatar 420
Saudi 186
UAE 238

Based on those figures, Indian citizens account for more than half of all Covid-19 cases reported in Kuwait.

Also in Kuwait, some 300 Turkish workers constructing a new airport terminal are reported to be holding a sit-in in their encampment. They say they were asked to resign when coronavirus arrived in Kuwait but fear they will not receive compensation.

Their Turkish employer, Limak Construction, says it is "prioritising" human resources "in order to minimise negative impacts of the global pandemic". Before the virus arrived, the firm was employing 3,800 Turkish workers in Kuwait and it says 504 of them have now been repatriated "with all rights given".

The Turkish workers also accuse the firm of "constantly bringing new workers from outside" – Indians, Bangladeshis and Nepalese – and fear this influx could spread the virus further.

April 20
Kuwait's health ministry is discriminating between Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis in its allocation of treatment for Covid-19 patients, according to a document circulated on social media.

The document is a flow chart telling medical staff what to do when someone tests positive for the virus. It is dated 16 April and appears to have been produced by the ministry's Covid-19 team.

The chart maps out two alternative courses of action, depending on the patient's nationality.

According to the instructions, Kuwaiti citizens who test positive are to be sent to the state-of-the-art Jaber al-Ahmad Hospital, completed less than two years ago at a cost of a billion dollars. It has 1,168 beds.

For non-Kuwaitis, though, the chart sets out a different procedure. Non-Kuwaitis (who are predominantly migrant workers from poor countries) will be told to go to the emergency department at a local hospital.

The local hospital will make a clinical assessment and then send them in one of two directions, in accordance with the health ministry's guidelines.

Non-Kuwaiti women and children will be transferred to the Jaber al-Ahmad Hospital. It's unclear why they can't be sent there directly after the test result.

Non-Kuwaiti men who have been assessed as "high risk" patients will also be transferred to the Jaber al-Ahmad Hospital.

The remaining group – non-Kuwaiti men assessed as "low risk" – are to be sent the exhibition centre in Mishref where there is a temporary field hospital.

There's no indication that non-Kuwaitis in the field hospital are receiving inadequate care but this two-channel approach to Covid-19 patients based on nationality is medically unethical and could easily lead to a two-tier system​ in patients' treatment.

April 29
Thousands of undocumented migrant workers are awaiting repatriation from Kuwait under a government scheme aimed at countering the spread of Covid-19.

Crowded living conditions make migrant workers especially vulnerable to infection and the effect of the scheme will be to reduce their numbers.

The government announced an amnesty where people living in Kuwait illegally could apply for repatriation on attractive terms. There would be no penalty charges for infringing residency laws; the cost of their air fare home would be covered by the government; food and accommodation would be provided while they were waiting to be repatriated, and they would not be disqualified from returning to Kuwait legally in the future.

Officials are expecting 20,000 people to have applied when the amnesty ends tomorrow, and currently there are said to be 15,700 awaiting repatriation in Kuwait's "amnesty shelter facilities".

Five-day slots for applications were allocated according to nationality – Filipinos first, followed by Egyptians, Bangladeshis, Indians, Sri Lankans and finishing with "other nationalities" during the last five days of this month.

Two thousand Filipinos have so far been flown home, though some applicants were rejected because of debts (including unpaid phone bills) or outstanding court cases, according to the Philippines embassy.

Earlier this week two special flights from Kuwait took 247 Bangladeshis back home but it appears that at least one of the flights was for deportation rather than straightforward repatriation. According to the Bangladesh Daily Star it was carrying people who had been imprisoned or held in deportation centres.

Other Gulf states are also repatriating migrants, citing Covid-19 as the reason. But there is resistance from some of the recipient countries. In India, for example, the Supreme Court has imposed a temporary freeze on citizens returning from abroad because of fears they could spread the virus.

In Bangladesh, a letter circulated by a group of 16 NGOs says the host countries should be looking after migrants during the pandemic, not repatriating them:

"Under international law in any crisis situation, it is incumbent upon the state concerned to take care of all people in its land including migrants, irrespective of their status."

Besides the risk of spreading the virus through repatriation, they point out that the home countries have "very limited capacity to rehabilitate the returnees".

However, there's no shortage of people willing to take up the Kuwaiti government's offer, whether or not their home countries want them back.

Huge crowds gathered outside the Nepal embassy as 2,500 sought travel documents ahead of their repatriation. The embassy does not appear to have been particularly helpful. Volunteers from the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) tried to manage the queues but said there were "just too many" to maintain social distancing.This week Nepalese workers have been among the "other nationalities" applying for repatriation. There are thought to be about 7,000 in Kuwait who could return home under the scheme – many of them female domestic workers.

On Tuesday, a further 22 Nepalese in Kuwait were diagnosed with the virus, making a total of 51 so far.

Meanwhile, the repatriation scheme is of no help to the 80,000-or-so Nepalese who live legally in Kuwait. Many have lost their jobs while others have no option but to continue working in unsafe conditions.

Anuj Tiwari of the Centre for Migration and International Relations in Nepal writes:

"Despite the lockdown, more than 600 Nepali taxi drivers are compelled to work in order to meet their daily instalment earning quotas, vehicle payments, and other daily services/basic needs. Failure to achieve these daily targets could either lead to the loss of income or termination."

May 11

Kuwait has been placed under a round-the-clock curfew following the discovery of a major Covid-19 outbreak among employees at supermarkets.

One large Kuwaiti chain, the Khaldya Cooperative Society, shut its doors until further notice after 103 workers – about 40% of its total staff – tested positive for the virus. Sixty infections have been reported at another chain, the Adailiya Cooperative Society. This has raised fears that more infections will follow among their customers.

Kuwait first introduced preventive measures – including a night-time curfew – back in March and until recently it seemed to be more successful than several of its Gulf neighbours in limiting the spread of infections.

Over the last week, however, the number of recorded cases has risen by 74% to 8,688. On Sunday alone, 1,065 new cases were reported.

The full-scale lockdown which began at 4pm on Sunday is due to last until May 30 – which means the restrictions will still be in place during the Eid al-Fitr festival at the end of Ramadan.

All non-essential businesses will be closed for the duration and government services will be available only online.

People will be allowed out to buy food, but only after booking an appointment. They will also be allowed to go for walks wearing face masks between 4.30 and 6.30 pm each day, but not to use vehicles.

Printing of newspapers has been suspended and the only home deliveries allowed are food and medicines.


Lebanon

February 25
The health minister confirmed on Friday that a woman who arrived the previous day on a flight from the Iranian city of Qom had the virus. She was taken directly to hospital and quarantined after showing symptoms on the plane. Two others from the same flight are being monitored and all other passengers have been asked to stay at home for 14 days.

February 26
Lebanon reported a second confirmed case on Wednesday. Both cases are women who returned from a religious visit to Iran on the same flight. Lebanon announced on Tuesday that it will "restrict" flights to countries affected by the virus and will completely stop religious pilgrimage flights.

February 28
Lebanon confirmed a third case on Thursday – an Iranian who arrived in the country on 24 February and was taken to hospital after developing symptoms.

February 29
Lebanon reported a fourth confirmed case – a Syrian woman in Beirut. The Education Ministry announced on Friday that "all educational institutions including kindergartens, schools, high schools, vocational institutions and universities" will be closed until March 8.

March 1
Three new cases were confirmed on Saturday, bringing the total to eight. The latest three, who were apparently already quarantined, are reported to have caught the virus from others in Lebanon who were known to be infected. Amir Wang, a Chinese student at a university in Lebanon, has posted a video on YouTube complaining of verbal abuse. He says in the video: "When I walk in the streets, in Beirut, Sidon, or even Shheem [where he lives], there are always people who are scared of me, or who avoid me or call me 'Corona'."

March 3
The total number of cases has risen to 13, with six new cases reported since Sunday. Arab News says most of those detected were either passengers or relatives of passengers on a flight that arrived in Beirut from the Iranian city of Qom a week ago.

March 5
Tests carried out on 50 people suspected of having the virus led to the detection of two new cases.

March 6
A Lebanese woman arriving from Britain has become the sixteenth confirmed case.

March 7
The Rafiq Hariri University Hospital in Beirut reported that it had tested 127 people and six of them proved positive. This brings Lebanon's total to 22 cases. Health minister Hamad Hasan said on Friday that "the phase of containing the coronavirus outbreak in Lebanon is over".

March 10
Lebanon anounced its first coronavirus death on Tuesday morning – a 56-year-old person who recently returned from Egypt.

March 11
second death was reported on Wednesday morning – a 55-year-old man who is said to have had a weak immune system.

March 12
There are reports of a strike by workers at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut – the country's main centre for testing and treating coronavirus cases. It is said to be the only one with quarantine facilities that meet global standards.

The strike appears to be at least partly a result of Lebanon's political malaise and the accompanying economic crisis.

The committee of employees and contract workers blames "indifference" by the hospital's management and stakeholders. Staff have reportedly not benefited from pay raises awarded to public sector employees and there have been complaints about late payment of salaries.

The government has also been accused of neglecting the university hospital for the benefit of private hospitals owned by political figures – though this has been denied.

March 16
Beirut airport is to be closed from Wednesday, as will points of entry by land and sea.

March 18
Lebanon reported a fourth coronavirus death, though the health minister said 80% of those diagnosed so far show no symptoms. The authorities are following up three cases where the source of infection is unknown. The minister also said the dispute reported earlier involving staff at the Hariri hospital in Beirut – the main centre for treating coronavirus – has been resolved.

March 19
The Hariri hospital in Beirut issued a statement about a woman who died shortly after being admitted on Wednesday. It said she had died of heart failure and a scan showed she had no lung infection – which may indicate she did not have coronavirus. The health ministry also noted the death of a nine-year-old child who is said to have been suffering from chronic diseases and, again, it's not yet clear if coronavirus is implicated.

March 22

Lebanon reported its largest daily increase so far, with 67 new cases. However, the official figures are a bit deceptive. Previously they only showed the positive test results from university hospitals accredited by the health ministry. The latest figures include 24 cases detected in private hospitals (which are awaiting re-confirmation by the Hariri university hospital in Beirut).

The health ministry warned yesterday that the figures "indicate the start of the stage of proliferation", and emphasised that observance of preventive measures, especially adherence to complete home quarantine, "has become an individual and societal moral responsibility that is incumbent on every citizen". Police have issued warnings to people found breaching home quarantine and carried out raids on businesses ignoring the preventive measures.

March 25
Lebanon: Human Rights Watch has voiced concern about the ability of the country's medical services to cope:

"The country’s financial crisis has caused a dollar shortage that, since September, has restricted the ability of medical supply importers to import vital medical supplies, including masks, gloves, and other protective gear, as well as ventilators and spare parts.

"The government has also not reimbursed public and private hospitals for bills, including from the National Social Security Fund and military health funds. This has made it harder for them to purchase medical supplies, hire additional staff to reduce the burden on overworked nurses, and provide necessary protective gear."

Health ministry figures suggest at least half the people diagnosed with the virus have caught it from others inside the country. While 29% of Lebanon's cases are travel-related, 50% are the result of contact with a confirmed case. The origin of the remaining 21% of investions is unknown.

Earlier this week the ministry included positive test results from some private hospitals in its official figures. It says "some" of these have now been discounted as a result of further testing by accredited laboratories.

March 26
Lebanon: The health ministry is inviting tenders for the supply of 70 ventilators. This sounds like a very small number.


Libya

March 24
Libya: Neither of the two main factions has reported any coronavirus cases but both are taking precautions. The UN-backed Government of National Accord has ordered the closure of restaurants and cafes and banned gatherings for parties, weddings and funerals. On Saturday it imposed a night-time curfew from 6pm to 6am. The Benghazi-based Libyan National Army imposed a similar curfew last Thursday in the areas under its control.

March 25
Libya: The UN-backed Government of National Unity (GNA) reported the country's
first case – a 73-year-old man who arrived in Libya from Tunisia on March 5, having previously been in Saudi Arabia. He is now being treated in a hospital in Tripoli. The Associated Press reports:

"The confirmation of Libya's first case, three weeks after the patient's arrival in the country, poses a test for its fragile medical system. Attempts at a nationwide disease protection program have been undermined by the country's division between two rival governments, in the east and west of the country, and a patchwork of armed groups supporting either administration.

"Even on Tuesday, Tripoli's suburbs came under heavy fire as the United Nations appealed for a freeze in fighting so authorities could focus on preventing the spread of the coronavirus."

Both of the main warring factions have previously announced measures to reduce the spread of the virus.The GNA ordered the closure of restaurants and cafes and banned gatherings for parties, weddings and funerals. On Saturday it imposed a night-time curfew from 6pm to 6am. The Benghazi-based Libyan National Army imposed a similar curfew last Thursday in the areas under its control. However, according to the National Center for Disease Control, only 61 tests for the virus have so far been carried out.

April 2
Libya: The National Center for Disease Control has so far confirmed 10 cases but has only carried out a total of 136 tests. Meanwhile, there are 126 suspected cases and 139 people are in quarantine.

April 6
Libya: The National Center for Disease Control has so far confirmed 18 cases but testing is limited. Only 186 tests have been carried out during the last four days, bringing the total to 312 tests.

April 25
So far, Libya has only 61 confirmed cases of Covid-19 but limited capacity for testing means an unknown number of infections are going undetected. At the same time, Libya faces a series of additional problems that make tackling the virus more difficult.

The country is now in its ninth year of internal conflict and, in the words of the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), growing levels of insecurity, political fragmentation and weak governance have led to a deterioration of basic services, particularly in the health system.

Earlier this month, heavy shelling hit the 400-bed al-Kahdra hospital in Tripoli which had been earmarked for treating Covid-19 patients. At least 27 health facilities have been damaged in clashes – including 14 that have since been closed.

Despite measures intended to prevent transmission of the virus – such as curfews – contact-tracing and testing are limited and there's a shortage of protective equipment for medical staff.

"Many points of entry, particularly land borders, are not fully secured and don’t have capacity and resources for testing and quarantining," the OCHA says in a recent report.

It adds that locations of healthcare facilities for confirmed and suspected Covid-19 cases often have to be changed because of "resistance from local communities or armed groups" who don't want them in their area.

Libya has 870,000 people categorised by the UN as "people of concern". They include 48,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, 373,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 448,000 returnees who were previously displaced.

Migrants and refugees in detention are less able to access critical medical care for Covid-19, the OCHA says, and the conditions in detention centres put them at greater risk.

"Many IDPs, and some returnees, live in sub-standard housing, informal settlements or camp-like settings hindering their ability to adopt social distancing measures and limiting access to functional basic services and essential household necessities," the report adds.

A Swiss-based organisation, REACH, has also been looking at the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on vulnerable populations in Libya and has highlighted a series of specific issues:

● Access to information: Migrants and refugees are the least informed about the virus, particularly older people and unaccompanied children. "Much of the key messaging (on television, radio and in print) is in Arabic, which some migrant and refugee communities are unable to understand," the report says. "For unaccompanied children, this issue is compounded by the fact that such messaging is often not presented in an age-appropriate format. Moreover, members of all these groups have less social connections and networks that would enable them to be better informed about the current situation."

Even if they are aware of the advice – such as frequent hand-washing – they may not be in a position to follow it. (An attack on the Man-Made River Project cut off water supplies to more than two million people in the Tripoli area earlier this month, and in the east of the country the UN is distributing 20,000 bars of soap in IDP camps – two bars per person.)

● Access to healthcare: Among black African communities in Libya, fears of discrimination and fears relating to immigration status were cited as barriers to accessing health care. Other difficulties resulted from restrictions on movement (due to the virus) and fear of catching the virus at health facilities.

● Access to education: Schools are closed and although the education ministry has set up distance learning, children in migrant and refugee communities are reported to be no longer receiving any form of education, even remotely.

● Access to work: This is a general problem – many people have lost jobs – but it particularly affects migrants and refugees who tend to rely on casual work or temporary jobs. Restrictions on movement also make it more difficult to search for alternative work. Out of 40 migrants and refugees surveyed, 34 said they has lost work as a result of the Covid-19 restrictions, three said they had already been unemployed and three said they were continuing to work.


Morocco

March 4
Morocco reported its first coronavirus case on Tuesday – a Moroccan citizen who arrived from Italy.

March 5
Morocco reported its second case on Thursday morning – a Moroccan woman who lives in Italy. She is reported to have arrived in Morocco on Wednesday, so it's likely her case was detected as she entered the country.

March 10
Morocco reported its third case on Monday – a 52-year-old French tourist who arrived in Marrakech on Saturday and presented himself at a hospital on Sunday after developing a temperature and respiratory problems.

March 11
Morocco reported its first coronavirus-related death – an 89-year old woman in Casablanca who had chronic health problems.

March 14
A French woman who arrived in Taroudant on March 2 from France is Morocco's eighth confirmed case. She is being treated in hospital in Agadir.

March 15
Transport minister Abdelkader Amara has tested positive after returning from a trip to Europe.

March 17
Morocco reported nine new cases, bringing the total to 37. The new cases were widely distributed – in Marrakech, Fez, Rabat, Meknes, Agadir and Casablanca – which is not a good sign.

March 18
The second reported coronavirus death was that of a 75-year-old Moroccan citizen from Salé.

March 19
Various posts on Twitter show that Britons in Morocco are struggling to get flights to take them home.

March 23
Morocco: The authorities are investigating a doctor in Tetouan who tested positive after returning from abroad but resumed medical work instead of staying in quarantine.

April 22
More than 60 cases of Covid-19 have been detected at a prison in Morocco. This is the third outbreak in the country's jails which altogether hold about 80,000 prisoners.

On April 8, a staff member staff at the vast Loudaya prison in the desert near Marrakesh was taken ill with the virus and, following tests, three other staff were found to be infected.

At Ksar el Kebir prison, in north-west Morocco, four more cases were detected among staff. Four female prisoners who had been in close contact with them were also checked. Two have since tested positive.

The latest outbreak – at the local prison in Ouarzazate, southern Morocco – looks far more serious because almost half of its 126 staff have tested positive for Covid-19, along with the prison's governor.

As a precaution against spreading infection, the staff had been divided into two teams, rotating at two-week intervals. Both teams were being checked at the end of each rotation and again before starting a new one.

However, this didn't prevent both teams from becoming infected. Testing has revealed 36 Covid-19 cases in one team and 24 in the other. At least six prisoners have also been confirmed as having the virus and the authorities say everyone held in the jail is being tested. According to one report 730 tests have so far been carried out and the results are expected later today.

The rotation system was one of several measures adopted in Morocco last month to reduce the risk in prisons, including a release of more than 5,000 prisoners.

Prison populations are seen as especially vulnerable to infections and the World Health Organisation has issued guidelines for dealing with the situation in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic.


Oman

February 25
The first two cases were reported by the Health Ministry on Monday: two Omani women returning from Iran. Both are said to be stable and in quarantine. Two more cases (again linked to travel to Iran) were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to four. Aviation authorities say flights to Iran are suspended until further notice.

February 26
Oman has reported no new cases. The operator of Oman's Khasab port announced it is suspending the import and export of all Iranian goods from Wednesday. Flights to and from Iran were suspended on Monday.

February 28
Oman confirmed two new cases on Thursday, bringing the total to six. Both new cases are said to be related to people who travelled to Iran and have been quarantined at home.

March 1
The health ministry announced that 1,320 people are in quarantine. Among the six previously confirmed cases, one person is said to have fully recovered and the symptoms of the other five are described as mild.

March 2
Oman, which has only six confirmed cases so far, is denying allegations of a new case in Dhofar. The health ministry is threatening to prosecute "those who publish or spread this rumour".

March 4
Oman reported six new cases (four Iranians, two Omanis). All had been in Iran. Oman's cumulative total is now 12 cases.

March 5
Oman reported three new cases "linked to travelling to Iran". One of the new cases is an Omani; the other two are Iranians.

March 6
Oman recported one new case on Thursday – an Omani who had visited the Italian city of Milan.

March 8
Oman has reported no new cases but a man who travelled to India from Oman on Friday died shortly after arriving. He was said to have breathing problems but it's not yet clear whether he had coronavirus.

March 14
Oman confirmed one new case, linked to travel to Iran. The health ministry says 18 of Oman's 20 cases are connected with travel to Iran.

March 18
Oman reported nine new cases, bringing the total to 33. Twelve of those previously diagnosed are said to have recovered. The health ministry says 29 of the confirmed cases are linked to travel abroad and remaining four are still being investigated.

April 9
Oman: The whole of Muscat governorate, which includes the capital, is to be locked down from 10 am Friday for the next 12 days. One district within the governorate – Muttrah, which includes a commercial centre and seaport – has been locked down since April 1.

April 22
Oman, which appeared earlier to be avoiding the worst of the pandemic, is now reporting substantial numbers of new cases – 106 more today. Of those, 71 are not Omani citizens. The problem is a familiar one in the Gulf states: migrant workers live in shared accommodation, sometimes with as many as 20 sleeping in the same room, and social distancing is virtually impossible.

May 1

Police in Morocco have arrested more than 80,000 people during the last six weeks for violating the coronavirus lockdown, according to official figures from the Direction Générale de la Sûreté Nationale (DGSN). On Wednesday alone, 4,582 were arrested – the highest daily total so far.

Other countries have also faced problems with non-compliance but enforcement of the preventive measures in Morocco has been especially strict. When the state of emergency began on March 20 the public prosecutor gave orders to "ensure rigorous application" of its provisions. Penalties for violators – including those who fail to wear a face mask in public – range up to three months in jail and a fine of 1,300 dinars ($130). It's likely that about half of those arrested will eventually be prosecuted.

Fortunately for the police, they don't have to spend so much time on routine work at the moment. Crime in general has fallen substantially during the lockdown in comparison with the same period last year, Morocco World News reports:

"Crimes related to theft under the threat of a weapon decreased by 52%, reported sexual assault and rape cases decreased by 41%, premeditated homicide cases went down 67%, and reported economic and financial crimes fell by 23%, in addition to decreases in other categories of crime."

Restrictions on movement have also brought a huge reduction in deaths and injuries caused by road accidents.

However, there's bad news from Morocco's prisons. Covid-19 outbreaks have been reported in three of them – initially among prison staff. Further testing has since revealed that more than 200 prisoners at a jail in Ouarzazate have also been infected.

The state of emergency is due to last until May 20 and the Moroccan authorities are hopeful that by then they can start lifting the restrictions. There's a reasonable prospect they will be in a position to do so. Official figures show that while the virus is still spreading the rate of increase has slowed considerably.

The total of confirmed cases has risen by 20% over the past week – well below the regional average. "Active" cases (after deducting recoveries and deaths) have risen by only 11% week on week.


Palestine

March 5
Four suspected cases are reported among people staying at a hotel in Beit Jala, near Bethlehem. These are not included in today's tally because they are still unconfirmed.

March 6
The first seven cases were confirmed on Thursday – in Bethlehem. Churches and mosques have been closed for at least two weeks and Israeli forces have sealed off the town, reportedly "in coordination with the Palestinian Authority".

March 7
Nine new cases were detected in Bethlehem, bringing the total to 16. Bethlehem's governor has declared a total shutdown of the area until Monday night, apart from health workers.

March 10
The number of coronavirus cases in Israel has doubled during the last two days and now stands at 50. This prompted prime minister Netanyahu to announce that everyone entering the country, including Israelis returning from abroad, must go into self-quarantine for two weeks. Foreigners will have to prove that they have made adequate arrangements for this.

Israel's situation is also entwined with that of the Palestinians. The first cases on the West Bank were confirmed on March 5, resulting in the lockdown of Bethlehem. On Monday the Palestinian authorities reported five new cases – four in Bethlehem and one in Tulkarem, bringing the total to 25. Consultations are said to be taking place with Jordan (and probably Israel too) about a possible closure of the bridge between Jordan and the West Bank.

March 14
Although there are 35 known coronavirus cases among Palestinians in the West Bank, so far none have been diagnosed in Gaza. Given the siege conditions in Gaza, it's widely believed that an outbreak there would be catastrophic – and it may only be a matter of time.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that two people who returned to the West Bank from Rafah (neighbouring Egypt, at the southern end of the strip) have been isolated and hospitalised, though they are said not to be showing symptoms. Meanwhile, 1,400 Gazans are in home quarantine, supervised by Hamas.

On Friday, Israel delivered 200 coronavirus testing kits to Gaza but according to the Haaretz article Israel has not yet decided how to respond in the event of an outbreak there. Since the healthcare system in Gaza is unlikely to be able to cope, one option would be to evacuate patients for treatment in Israel, but Israel itself is expected to run short of hospital beds if the epidemic worsens.

The Haaretz article continues:

"If the Gaza Strip is hit by an outbreak of the disease, given the critical condition of the enclave's medical system, there will be a need to declare a mass home quarantine for Gaza residents. The Turkish hospital, which was built two years ago in the Strip, is under consideration to be used to treat coronavirus patients exclusively, but the hospital is not yet in operation and has no staff.

"A field hospital has been set up at the Erez Crossing between Israel and Gaza with funding from an American organisation, but it has not yet been hooked up to infrastructure, and is also expected to face a medical staff shortage... Officials also pointed to the Trump administration’s decision to end American funding for the USAID and the UNWRA Palestinian refugee agency is another factor weakening the Palestinian healthcare system.

"In order to treat coronavirus patients, Gaza will need to use materials that Israel has banned from being brought into the Strip. Israel has not yet been asked to ease or temper its policy on importing goods, the official said. Israel may have to consider the entry of 'dual-use' goods – civilian materials that can be used for military purposes. For example, Israel imposes limits on hydrogen peroxide, which in addition to its use as a medical disinfectant can at certain concentrations be used to manufacture explosives."

March 15
new (unofficial) website gives details of the situation in the Palestinian territories.

March 18
Two new cases were diagnosed among Palestinians returning from abroad. One has been quarantined in Ramallah, the other in Jericho. Government spokesman Ibrahim Melhem said second tests on the 37 infected people in Bethlehem showed that 20 of them had recovered, but they remain in quarantine waiting for a third test to be taken on Thursday. He also said 30 samples taken from contacts of the infected person in Tulkarem were negative.

March 20
Palestine: The number of active cases has dropped to 31 according to the health ministry. This is because 17 confirmed cases in Bethlehem are now said to have recovered, while one new case has been confirmed in Salfit.

March 22
Palestine: One new case was reported in Ramallah on the West Bank but, more alarmingly, the first two cases have been confirmed in Gaza. They are two Palestinians who arrived from Pakistan via Egypt on Thursday. They tested positive for the virus on Saturday and are now quarantined in Rafah.

March 26
Palestine: Seven new cases were reported in Gaza, bringing the total there to nine. All seven are members of the Hamas security forces stationed at a quarantine centre which is housing the two earlier cases. In the West Bank, the first coronavirus-related death was reported – a 60-year-old woman in the village of Bidu. Her known contacts have been quarantined in hospital and all the other villagers are in home isolation.

April 4
Thousands of Palestinian workers are expected to return from Israel to the West Bank ahead of Passover which begins on Wednesday – raising fears that this will lead to a further spread of the virus.

The Palestinian Authority wants them to be tested by Israel before they arrive. There are also reported to be Israeli-Palestinian talks about arrangements for their return after Passover.

The recent rise in new cases in the West Bank appears to be mainly the result of an outbreak among Palestinian workers at a poultry factory in the Israeli industrial zone of Atarot. The factory has 500 employees and according to Haaretz newspaper 41 of them have tested positive. A further 250 employees are being quarantined in the West Bank.


Qatar

February 27
Qatar has ordered the evacuation of its citizens from Iran (and appears to be helping evacuate Kuwaitis too). So far, Qatar has no confirmed cases but that may change as a result of the evacuation.

February 28
Qatar has evacuated an unspecified number of its citizens from Iran and they will be quarantined in a hotel for the next two weeks.

March 1
Qatar announced its first confirmed case on Saturday: a 36-year-old Qatari man who arrived on a government-chartered evacuation flight from Iran on Thursday. He had been quarantined since arriving, as have others on the same flight.

March 2
Qatar confirmed two new cases, bringing the total to three.

March 3
Qatar reported four new cases on Monday – two Qatari citizens and two domestic workers who had accompanied them on a private plane from Iran on February 27. On Tuesday morning a fifth person – who had been quarantined immediately after arriving from Iran (apparently on the same private flight) – was also diagnosed

March 7
Qatar announced three new cases on Friday – two Qatari citizens and a third person "of another nationality". On Saturday morning it reported a fourth new case – a Qatari citizen who had been in quarantine since arriving from Iran.

March 8
The Indian authorities are trying to trace people who travelled on two Qatar Airways flights – from Venice to Doha and from Doha to Kochi. The Times of India reports that three passengers, all from the same family, have been diagnosed with the virus.

March 9
Qatar has suspended entry for people from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria and Thailand. Qatar depends heavily on migrant workers and this will have a huge impact if it continues for long. An official statement said: "The decision affects all individuals intending to enter from these countries, including visas upon arrival, those with a residence or work permit, and temporary visitors."

March 10
Qatar, which reported three new cases on Monday, has suspended school and university classes and closed nurseries.

March 11
Qatar has banned the smoking of shisha (hubble-bubble) pipes in cafes and restaurants. Shisha smoking carries a risk of coronavirus because pipes are often shared between users.

March 12
The health ministry announced that 238 cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed among "expatriates" who "reside in one residential complex".

No information was given about the nationalities of these expatriates or the nature of their "residential complex" but the obvious conclusion is that the virus has swept through a compound housing migrant workers. If so, the same thing could happen to thousands or other workers living in cramped conditions – not only in Qatar but in other parts of the Gulf.

The "expatriates" affair in Qatar began on Sunday when three people were diagnosed with the virus. As a result, more than 300 people – most or all of whom lived in the same accommodation – were quarantined. Subsequent tests showed that 238 of them were positive, and those who have so far tested negative are not yet in the clear.

Overall in Qatar, 800 people have been quarantined and 6,000 have been tested, according to the authorities.

March 13
The health ministry has called on all citizens and residents to "avoid crowded places". Cinemas, theatres, children’s play areas, gyms and wedding venues are closed from today. However, the regular Friday prayers in mosques will still go ahead, according to the ministry for Islamic affairs. Mosques are being urged to open their windows to increase ventilation and people with possible coronavirus symptoms are advised to stay away.

March 14
Qatar reported 58 new cases on Friday night, followed by 17 more on Saturday morning. All but four of the new cases are said to involve "expatriate workers" (which is probably a euphemism for migrant labourers) – most of whom were already in quarantine. Following the discovery of three "expatriate" cases last Sunday more than 300 people from the same "residential complex" were quarantined and on Wednesday the health ministry announced that 238 of them had tested positive. Many of the latest cases appear to be from the same quarantined group.

March 16
Qatar reported 64 new cases but gave no details. During the last six days its cumulative total has leapt from 24 cases to 401.

March 17
Qatar reported 38 new cases and according to the health ministry most of these are "related to migrant workers that were under quarantine". About three-quarters of Qatar's confirmed cases are thought to be migrant workers.

March 18
A real estate company announced that tenants of its restaurants, cafes and shops will be exempted from rent for three months, starting in April.

March 20
Qatar reported eight new cases and, once again, "most" of them are said to be expatriate workers.

March 25
Qatar has arrested nine people for violating home quarantine. A further 14 – listed here – have been publicly named and shamed.

April 17
Yesterday, Qatar reported 392 new Covid-19 cases and according to Gulf News most of them were "related to expatriate workers".

Amnesty International has interviewed 20 migrant workers from Nepal who say they were rounded up – along with many others – by Qatari police and then deported after being tricked into thinking they were just being given coronavirus tests. In a report issued on Wednesday, Amnesty said:

"On Thursday 12 and Friday 13 March, hundreds of migrant workers were rounded up and detained by police in parts of Doha including the Industrial Area, Barwa City, and Labour City. They were apprehended whilst away from their accommodation, carrying out errands or shopping for groceries ...

"One man told Amnesty International: 'We were asked to stop to test for the virus. Police told us that the doctor would come and check the virus. But they lied to us.'

"The men were then crammed on to buses, and taken to a detention facility in the Industrial Area ... One Nepali man told Amnesty International: 'The jail was full of people. We were given one piece of bread each day, which was not enough. All the people were fed in a group, with food lying on plastic on the floor. Some were not able to snatch the food because of the crowd'."

According to Amnesty, none of the men were able to challenge their detention or expulsion and some only learned about it while being taken to the airport.

Saudi Arabia is planning to deport 200,000 Ethiopian migrants, Reuters news agency reported earlier this week. So far, 2,870 of them have been expelled from the kingdom.

“They have been deported in a very congested way, with 300 to 500 squeezed on to single flights," the Ethiopian health minister was quoted as saying.

The UN has called on Saudi Arabia to suspend the deportations – at least until they can be better organised.

“Large-scale migratory movements which are not planned make the transmission of the virus much more likely to continue,” Catherine Sozi, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Ethiopia, told Reuters.


Saudi Arabia

February 27
Saudi Arabia, which has so far not reported any coronavirus cases, announced that for the time being foreigners will not be allowed to enter the kingdom on religious visits. It also announced that tourists from countries where there is "a danger" of coronavirus will not be allowed to enter, and imposed restrictions on use of national identity cards for travel between the kingdom and other Gulf Cooperation Council states.

February 29
Saudi Arabia has so far not reported any cases inside the kingdom but a check through reports from other Arab countries shows that at least eight Saudis have been diagnosed with the virus this week – all of them outside the kingdom. Seven are in Bahrain and one is in Kuwait. All had recently been in Iran.

March 3
Saudi Arabia reported its first case – a Saudi citizen who had arrived from Iran via Bahrain. The health ministry said that when the man arrived in Saudi Arabia he did not disclose to the authorities that he had recently been in Iran. Although this is the first case in the kingdom, reports from other Arab countries indicate that at least nine Saudis have been diagnosed with the virus outside the kingdom. The Saudi health ministry said on Sunday it has prepared 8,000 hospital beds for possible future cases.

March 5
Saudi Arabia reported its second case – a man who had arrived from Iran via Bahrain together with the first person to be diagnosed in Saudi Arabia.

March 6
Saudi Arabia reported three new cases, all of whom had visited Iran. The kingdom now faces a potentially serious problem because members of its Shia minority often visit Iran secretly via third countries – and without having their passports stamped by the Iranian authorities. According to the Saudi health ministry, all five cases detected in the kingdom so far involve people who arrived via Kuwait or Bahrain without disclosing they had been in Iran. The ministry has set up a toll-free phone line and says that if people disclose their secret trips to Iran within the next 48 hours they will not be punished. Saudi Arabia also complaining that Iran has failed to provide a list of recent visitors from the kingdom.

March 7
Saudi Arabia, which reported no new cases, is restricting land crossings with the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain to commercial vehicles only. Arrivals from those countries by air will also be limited to three airports: Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.

March 8
Six of the seven cases reported so far have been linked to Iran. The authorities have a problem tracing others who may have been infected there because members of the kingdom's Shia minority often visit Iran secretly via third countries – and without having their passports stamped by the Iranian authorities. On Thursday the health ministry set up a toll-free phone line and said that people who disclosed their secret trips to Iran within the next 48 hours would not be punished. On Saturday the ministry announced that 128 people had come forward. Of those, 26 are currently in Saudi Arabia, 95 are in Iran and seven are in other countries.

March 9
Saudi Arabia has imposed a lockdown on the city of Qatif, which has a large Shia population. The government says this is because all the recorded cases are from Qatif but the move may cause resentment among the kingdom's Shia minority.

March 10
Following the politically sensitive decision to impose a lockdown on the predominatly Shia city of Qatif, the authorities have given assurances that it has "an abundance of food supplies and other essential goods". They have also warned that people who fail to give correct health-related information when entering the kingdom could face fines of up to $133,000.

March 11
Saudi Arabia joined Qatar in announcing a ban on shisha pipes in cafes and restaurants. Reuters news agency has a report from Qatif, the predominantly Shia area that was placed under lockdown on Sunday. People there are said to be stocking up on food and hand sanitisers but otherwise taking it pretty calmly.

March 13
The 17 new cases include 11 Egyptians from the same group as another Egyptian who was diagnosed earlier while apparently on a visit to Mecca.

March 14
Saudi Arabia reported 24 new cases – seven of them Saudi citizens who had been quarantined because of contact with people found to be infected. The others newly diagnosed are 16 Egyptians and a Bangladeshi expatriate.

March 16
Shortly before midnight on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's interior ministry issued an eight-point decree, effective from today:

  1. Attendance at the workplace is suspended for government employees except for the military, those working in security, and teachers working remotely.
  2. Markets and malls are closed except for the sale of food and medicines. Shops outside malls can remain open, except for barbers and beauty salons. Shopping trolleys must be disinfected after use by each customer.
  3. Takeway food services can operate 24 hours a day but customers must not sit inside while waiting for their order.
  4. No "gatherings" are allowed in public recreational places such as parks and beaches.
  5. Auctions are not allowed.
  6. To reduce physical contact, electronic and telephone communication is to be used as much as possible.
  7. Companies and non-government bodies should reduce the number of employees attending workplaces. Pregnant women, people with cancer, heart disease, lung disease, HIV, hereditary diseases and those taking immunosuppressive drugs should be allowed to work remotely.
  8. Expatriate workers returning to the kingdom must spend 14 days in home quarantine.

March 17
Of the 15 new cases, only one is reported to be a Saudi citizen. The others are said to be from Spain, Morocco, Britain, France, Switzerland, Jordan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Egypt.

March 19
Saudi Arabia reported 67 new cases – its biggest daily increase yet. However, the health ministry says 45 of these were travellers who had been quarantined immediately on arrival.

March 20
Saudi Arabia reported 36 new cases. Nineteen of these had been in contact with people previously infected. The other 17 were arrivals from various countries.

March 21
Saudi Arabia reported 70 new cases – 49 of them in the capital, Riyadh. The health ministry said 11 of the new cases involved people arriving from abroad who were immediately quarantined. More alarmingly, 58 of the new cases have been attributed to social activities inside the kingdom – such as attending weddings or family gatherings. On Friday the kingdom announced the suspension of all domestic flights, buses, taxis and trains for the next 14 days. There are exceptions for key workers.

March 22
There's alarm in a growing number of Middle Eastern countries about members of the public who are not complying with the rules on self-isolation and social distancing. As a result, the authorities are resorting to ever more draconian measures in their effort to combat coronavirus.

Non-compliance appears to be a particular problem in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Saudi Arabia – especially where social gatherings are concerned. Several examples are reported in the round-up below, and there have been others in al-bab's previous daily updates.

Today, the Saudi Gazette has a photo of families picnicking in Riyadh – contrary to government instructions. The paper reports that one-third of all infections in the kingdom "are due to people coming into contact with previously infected individuals and taking part in social gatherings such as weddings, funerals and family meetings".

Anecdotally, there are also reports that young people whose education has been suspended are continuing to meet socially. Some appear to take the view that since the worst effects of the virus are usually found among elderly people, youngsters don't need to worry about it so much.

March 22
Saudi Arabia reported 48 new cases, including five health workers. This is another big increase which brings the cumulative total to 392. The health ministry warned that even small gatherings in people's homes are dangerous and that young men and women should not consider themselves immune to the virus. On Saturday the council of senior religious scholars issued a statement saying that anyone who violates the anti-cornavirus directives is committing a sin. "The gravity of the sin committed by violating these directives increases because the violator is not only harming himself, but others as well."

March 23
Four Arab countries have now declared nationwide curfews in an effort to check the spread of coronavirus.

In Kuwait, a night-time curfew – from 5pm to 4am – came into effect on Sunday. The deputy prime minister said the move was regrettable but had become necessary because people were "failing to comply with the Ministry of Health’s instructions to stay indoors".

Violators face up to three years in jail and fines of 10,000 dinars ($32,000). People working in "vital sectors" are exempted and will be issued with special ID cards.

Saudi Arabia has announced a similar curfew – from 7pm to 6am – which will come into effect this evening. As in Kuwait, there are exceptions for "vital activities", which in the Saudi case include allowing muezzins to go to mosques and recite the call to prayer.

The Saudi move came amid growing evidence that large numbers of people have been ignoring the rules for self-isolation and social distancing.

In Jordan, where a round-the-clock curfew enforced by the military began on Saturday morning, more than a thousand violators have been arrested – 392 on Saturday and 693 on Sunday. They could face up to a year in jail.

The Jordan Times quotes media affairs minister Amjad Adaileh as saying the curfew may last for weeks and urging people to get used to "this new lifestyle".

The authorities haven't yet decided how to keep people supplied with food, medicines and other necessities but they are considering home delieveries because "allowing people to leave their homes for set periods of time may result in stampedes and crowding, which would counter the government’s preventive measures".

Tunisia has also imposed a night-time curfew which started on Wednesday and runs from 6pm to 6am.

March 25
Amid rapidly-growing numbers of new infections and the first two coronavirus-related deaths, Saudi Arabia is sealing off the cities of Riyadh, Mecca and Medina. From tomorrow, no one will be allowed to leave or enter.

Movement between the kingdom's 13 administrative regions will also be forbidden.

A night-time curfew is already in force and from tomorrow it will begin at 3pm rather than 7pm.

March 26
Saudi Arabia: A specialist laboratory in the kingdom's Eastern Province has tested more than 5,000 samples during the past week.

April 2
Saudi Arabia: There are growing expectations that this year's Hajj (the annual prilgrimage to Mecca) which is due to start on July 28 will be cancelled. On Wednesday, the kingdom said Muslims who are planning to take part should delay their bookings. According to a Saudi newspaper the Hajj has been cancelled 40 times throughout its history – most recently in 1798 because of Napoleon's activities. A more immediate problem – for Muslims in general – will be how to maintain social distancing during the holy month of Ramadan, which is just three weeks away.

April 6
Saudi Arabia: A police officer died on Sunday after being run over by a vehicle that failed to stop at a curfew enforcement checkpoint in Mecca.

April 8
The Saudi government warned yesterday that Covid-19 infections in the kingdom could rise to 200,000 over the next few weeks – more than 70 times the current official figure – and appealed for more cooperation from the public.

Restrictions on movement and social contact in Saudi Arabia are not having the desired effect because they are widely flouted. Road traffic, for example, is still at 46% of the normal level – which is considered far too high.

Health minister Tawfiq al-Rabiah accused "a section of society" of not taking the preventive measures seriously, and the ministry's spokesperson said:

“If people fail to hold fast to the instructions over the coming months, hundreds of thousands will be vulnerable to infection, and the health system will collapse as we have seen in major countries and this is not an imaginary scenario.”

Expert studies predict a minimum of 10,000 cases and a maximum of 200,000 in the kingdom over the next few weeks. Whether it's the lower figure or the higher figure will depend on how fully the public complies with preventive measures, the minister indicated.

“We stand today at a decisive moment as a society in raising our sense of responsibility and contributing together with determination to stop the spread of this pandemic,” the minister said.

On Monday, the authorities extended a 24-hour curfew to cover more parts of the kingdom, including the capital, Riyadh. In other areas they brought forward the start of the night-time curfew from 7pm to 3pm.

A slogan promoted by the Saudi government is "We are all responsible" and it signals what in much of the Middle East is a rather novel idea of partnership between states and their citizens. Autocratic rulers are beginning to realise that they can't make the virus go away by diktat and if disaster is to be avoided they need to engage with the public far more than they have been willing to do in the past.

April 9
Saudi Arabia: Under the slogan "Culture in isolation", the Saudi culture ministry is promoting various home-based activities that are intended to be mentally enriching. One of them is a "reading marathon".

April 10
Saudi Arabia: The New York Times reports that King Salman has socially-isolated himself in a palace on a Red Sea island near Jeddah. The paper also says several members of the royal family have been infected and staff at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh have been told to prepare for an influx of VIP patients.

April 14
Arab states in the Gulf are reporting large numbers of new Covid-19 infections among migrant workers.

● In Bahrain, foreign labourers account for almost half the confirmed cases – more than 600 have tested positive.

● In Kuwait, 679 of the 1,300 confirmed cases are reported to be Indian workers.

● In Saudi Arabia, according to the health minister, "most cases" have arisen in migrant worker communities and other densely populated areas. "We have noticed an increase in coronavirus infections in the accommodation of workers and we called upon them to apply the highest degree of precaution," the minister said.

Migrant workers are especially vulnerable to infection because they often live in compounds with shared sleeping quarters where it's impractical to follow the precautions urged by governments.

Journalist Ben Hubbard takes a detailed look at their problems in an article for the New York Times.

Hubbard quotes a Kenyan oil worker in Qatar (interviewed by phone) as saying he shares a room in a company compound with three others, in a ward with only six bathrooms for 450 men: “Crowding is the problem, and washing hands is almost unrealistic.”

His company provides food, but in a communal dining hall. “It is not in any way social distancing,” the worker says.

April 20
In countries where corruption is prevalent, Covid-19 has presented new opportunities for making money.

Saudi Arabia's Control and Anti-Corruption Authority says it has uncovered two scams by government officials.

One involves the sale of fake permits granting exemption from curfew restrictions. A group of officials are said to have sold 31 permits for 3,000 riyals ($800) each.

The other scam involves six people, including two health officials in Riyadh and the owner of a hotel. The officials allegedly took bribes from the hotel which then overcharged the health ministry for hosting Saudis who were being quarantined.

April 23
In Saudi Arabia the number of known Covid-19 infections has more than doubled during the past week. Earlier this month, when the tally was just over 2,000, the health minister warned that expert studies were predicting a minimum of 10,000 and a maximum of 200,000 confirmed cases "over the next few weeks".

The minimum figure was clearly wrong, because Saudi Arabia passed the 10,000 mark on Tuesday and the latest tally is 12,772 confirmed cases.

There are several reasons for this. One is that levels of testing have increased, revealing cases that otherwise would have gone undetected.

At the same time, though, the kingdom's preventive measures have been less effective than they might have been. The health minister has accused a "section of society" of not taking the precautions seriously. Corruption may also play a part: several officials have been charged with selling fake permits granting curfew exemptions.

But while some deliberately flout the rules there are thousands of others who have little choice – because of their living conditions. This is a sensitive issue for Saudi Arabia and the other wealthy states in the Gulf, but there are plenty of signs that the virus has taken root in their migrant communities. They have relied for years on cheap Asian labourers and are now reaping the effects of housing them in cramped and often squalid conditions.

The Saudis don't appear to have issued figures for infection rates among migrant workers compared with those among their own citizens, but in Bahrain migrants are said to account for 90% of the currently active Covid-19 cases and the authorities have relocated thousands of them to "safe shelters". Qatar's reports regularly state that "most" newly-diagnosed cases are "related to expatriate workers", and in Oman about two-thirds of new cases are not Omani citizens.

The Saudis are now targeting specific neighbourhoods which have "a high density of expatriate workers" and carrying out random sampling there. This will help to identify particular hotspots, though it doesn't address the underlying problem of living conditions that increase the risk of infections spreading.

April 26
Saudi Arabia has announced an easing of its coronavirus restrictions to allow for "the return of some economic activities in line with health instructions".

On the face of it, this could be a risky move because the Covid-19 virus is still spreading more rapidly in the kingdom than among any of its Arab Gulf neighbours. Over the past week the number of confirmed cases has almost doubled, from 8,274 to 16,299.

The relaxation is clearly intended as a step towards reviving the economy but from a medical point of view it may not be as foolhardy as it looks. A lot will depend on how effectively it is implemented.

Restrictions had been tightened three weeks ago when the authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew on the main cities. People were not allowed to leave their homes without a permit, except for essential needs such as food and medicines. In other parts of the kingdom there was a "night-time" curfew from three o'clock in the afternoon until six in the morning.

Under the new arrangements, people will be allowed to go out between 9am and 5pm but must still follow the rules on social distancing. The exceptions are Mecca (which has almost 4,000 known cases) and other viral hotspots where a full curfew will remain in place.

From Wednesday, wholesale and retail trade can resume and shopping malls can reopen. Again, this must be in "compliance with the precautionary and preventive measures" which will be monitored by the authorities. Hairdressers, gyms, cinemas, restaurants and cafes must remain closed.

The effects of daytime opening should be interesting, considering that Ramadan has just begun. During the holy month, Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset, and in a normal Ramadan they tend to conserve their energy for feasting and socialising during the night – so it remains to be seen whether there will be a daytime shopping binge.

The new procedures are scheduled to last until May 13 but the official statement says they will be subject to "continuous evaluation", so they could be changed at any time before then if they are seen to be having adverse effects.Another important change is that from Wednesday construction firms and factories will be allowed to "practise their activities without restrictions on time, according to the nature of their work".

One factor behind the relaxation is that Saudi citizens are generally at less risk of infection than the kingdom's migrant workers. Although there are no official figures, the health minister has said that "most" cases arise in migrant worker communities and other densely populated areas. According to the Economist magazine, migrants account for about 80% of recent cases.

Migrant workers are especially vulnerable because they often live in compounds with shared sleeping quarters where it's impractical to follow the precautions urged by governments.

The Saudi authorities are now targeting specific neighbourhoods which have "a high density of expatriate workers" and carrying out random sampling there. This will help to identify particular hotspots, though it doesn't address the underlying problem of living conditions that increase the risk of infections spreading.

May 5

Saudi firms that run into financial trouble because of the coronavirus epidemic will be allowed to cut workers' wages by 40% – and then sack them after six months – under a decision approved by the kingdom's ministry of human resources.

In legal terms, it means companies can break existing employment contracts on grounds of force majeure so long as they follow the ministry's rules and can demonstrate financial hardship.

Migrant workers are likely to be hardest hit by the move, since employees who have Saudi citizenship can claim compensation for loss of wages from the government.

Companies that cut wages will still be allowed to claim government benefits, including help with the portion of wages that they do pay, according to a report in the Saudi newspaper Ash-Sharq al-Awsat.

Another Saudi paper, Arab News, quotes the ministry as saying pay cuts will only be implemented with employees' consent – though it doesn't say what will happen if employees refuse and their employers can't pay.


Sudan

March 14
50-year-old man who died in Khartoum on Thursday was confirmed on Friday as Sudan's first – and so far only – coronavirus case. He is said to have visited the UAE at the beginning of this month.

March 19
The World Health Organisation reported a second case in Sudan. In Kassala, near the border with Eritrea, two suspected cases have been quarantined. On Monday the authorities declared a state of emergency which included the sudden closure of Khartoum airport – forcing a Turkish airliner to turn back to Istanbul. As a result, more than 30 Sudanese now appear to be stranded in Turkey.

March 20
Sudan has so far confirmed only two cases but the health ministry says there are also 21 suspected cases.

April 18
The total of known Covid-19 infections in Sudan has more than doubled since yesterday. Following the latest batch of test results there are now 66 confirmed cases. So far, 10 people have died. These are small numbers in comparison with many other countries but there are signs that the spread of the virus in Sudan is becoming more difficult to contain.

Sudan's first case came to light on March 12 when a man who had recently visited the United Arab Emirates died in Khartoum. By the beginning of April there were still only seven confirmed cases but more than 20 people had been put into quarantine.

The authorities have been following up cases in an effort to trace the sources of infection. According to a UN situation report, 12 of the 32 cases identified before the latest increase were "imported" by people with a recent travel history and 18 were the result of direct contact with those already infected. The remaining two cases were more worrying because, in the words of the UN report, they indicated "the possibility of community transmission".

Among the latest cases, the health ministry attributes some to foreign travel and contact with known cases but also says "a number" of them are not explained by contact or travel. Again, this hints at transmission within the local community.

Of the 66 currently known cases, 61 are in the Khartoum administrative area (in seven different districts), plus three in the White Nile province and one each in the Nile River and Gezira provinces.

three-week lockdown of Khartoum takes effect today, and people have been told to restrict their movements to small areas. There are also restrictions in the Nile River, Blue Nile and Red Sea provinces, including the closure of Port Sudan's Grand Market. Travel in and out of North Darfur is being suspended.

On Thursday, the prime minister dismissed Lt Gen Ahmed Abdoun, the military governor of Khartoum, after he refused to implement a ban on group worship in the capital's mosques and churches that had been announced by the minister of religious affairs.

April 22
Sudan: Confirmed cases have risen from 32 to 140 over the last five days. The infections currently being detected are mostly in the Khartoum area where there are some signs the virus has taken root within communities. However, the UN says the sharp increase in confirmed cases may be due to increased testing as an additional laboratory is now in operation. Meanwhile, the Central Committee of the Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) has warned that 13 hospitals in the country are on the point of closing because of a lack of equipment and protective gear for health workers.

May 2

Sudan's Covid-19 outbreak is still in its early stages but growing fast. Confirmed cases have more than doubled over the last five days and now total 533.

The vast majority of these infections have occurred in and around the capital, Khartoum, where the authorities imposed a three-week lockdown on April 18. There's a curfew between 1pm and 6am, public transport is suspended and other vehicles can't be used without a special permit.

But it's not going according to plan. For many Sudanese social distancing is difficult or impossible, many don't believe they are in danger and there's also resistance from supporters of the ousted president, Omar al-Bashir.

The Sudanese website Dabanga reports:

"Long queues are witnessed each day in front of bakeries, selling points of cooking gas, and fuel stations, due to shortage of the commodities.

"A number of people in the capital however seem not to take the precautions seriously. They ignore the measures, arrange transport themselves, and gather for demonstrations."

Dabanga says some of Bashir's supporters have also tried to confuse the issue by claiming the coronavirus outbreak is an invention of the new government to distract attention from the country's economic crisis.

On Thursday the government deployed hundreds of troops in Khartoum – members of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support militia – in an effort to enforce the restrictions. The authorities have also warned that drivers caught using vehicles without a permit will lose their licence and face prosecution.

Twenty-three members of the former regime – including ex-president Bashir, who was overthrown a year ago in a popular uprising – are detained in Kobar prison in Khartoum, and their supporters are now calling for their release, citing Covid-19 as the reason.

One of the detainees, Ahmed Haroun who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges, is said to have become infected – though there is no official confirmation.

The World Health Organisation views prisons as potential Covid-19 hotspots and recommends releasing prisoners where possible. But the fear in Khartoum is that if Bashir and his cronies are released and put under house arrest they are likely to escape.


Syria

March 11
Syria continues to deny that anyone in the country has coronavirus but on Tuesday the official news agency did admit to some suspected cases. It said 34 people had been tested, though all proved negative. These included a woman at al-Mouwasat University Hospital who is being treated for pneumonia.

March 14
The Assad regime maintains that no cases have so far been detected in Syria. However, on Friday it announced that schools and universities will be suspended until April 2 and the working hours of government employees will be substantially reduced. These are described as "precautionary and preventative" measures.

March 17
Syria announced that 103 tests on people suspected of having the virus all proved negative. The Assad regime continues to insist that there are no confirmed cases in Syria. Photos on the government website show "strict disinfection measures" at Damascus airport and on buses in Aleppo.

March 20
Syria: The health minister repeated that no coronavirus cases have been registered in Syria, adding that the health ministry is "the only source about this subject, not what are being circulated on websites". Meanwhile, the foreign ministry has called for sanctions against the Assad regime to be lifted "due to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the neighbouring states".

March 23
Syria registered its first coronavirus case on Sunday – a man in his twenties who arrived from an unnamed country "where there are infections". The health ministry said he had not shown symptoms when he arrived in Syria but has since tested positive.

March 24
Syria: Following confirmation of Syria's first coronavirus case on Sunday, on Monday the health ministry said tests on an unspecified number of suspected other cases have all proved negative. "All forms of mass public and private transportation" are due to have been suspended by 8pm tonight.

March 26
Syria: The health ministry announced four new cases, bringing the total to five. Three of them are said to have been quarantined since last week but there are no further details. In north-western Syria there are four million people not under the regime's control. The World Health Organisation (WHO) says test kits have begun arriving there and 5,000 more are due to be delivered next week. WHO is also sending large amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) to health facilities in the area and is working with partners to train 540 health workers in infection prevention measures.

April 2
Syria: A lockdown has been imposed on Manin, a small town 18km north of Damascus, following the death of a woman who had been previously diagnosed with coronavirus. The government news agency says the woman's family were running a shop and had failed to abide by quarantine regulations. Its report also suggests there are "a considerable number" of Syrians in the area who have entered the country illegally from Lebanon. On Friday the interior ministry gave orders that "seized citizens" who entered the country from Lebanon "via illegal crossings" should be tested.

April 10
Syria: Some of Syria's coronavirus precautions don't look very scientific. A photo issued by the government news agency shows that cars entering Aleppo have to drive through a pool of disinfectant.

April 12
Syria reported six new Covid-19 cases yesterday, bringing the official total to 25. Although there are many who doubt the official figures, the outbreak in regime-controlled areas looks relatively manageable at present, partly because the regime had begun taking precautions before the first case was confirmed. Even so, there are concerns about how the country will cope if the number of infections grows substantially. In opposition-held areas there are no known cases so far (and reportedly no testing either) but an epidemic there could easily become catastrophic.

joint report by the World Health Organisation and the UN's OCHA, published on Friday, describes the general situation in Syria and notes some of the economic hardship caused by coronavirus-related restrictions.

There's also a more detailed but slightly older report by Mazen Gharibah and Zaki Mehchy, two researchers at the London School of Economics. It estimates that government and private hospitals have about 350 intensive care beds with respirators that could be available for Covid-19 patients.

In opposition-controlled north-west Syria, where many displaced people have taken refuge, there are only 166 doctors, the researchers say. Idlib Health Directorate has 20 intensive care beds with ventilators.

In north-east Syria, where four million people are living, only two of the 11 public hospitals are still fully functional. There are said to be 22 intensive care beds available.


Tunisia

March 3
Tunisia reported its first case – a 40-year-old Tunisian man who had returned from Italy by boat on February 27.

March 4
The first – and so far only – case is a Tunisian man who arrived from Italy by boat on February 27. It now turns out that the boat was a large one, with 247 passengers and crew who are all "subject to preventive measures and testing". In the seaside resort of Hammamet there are complaints from five people (two of them French) who have reportedly been told to quarantine themselves for two weeks on three small yachts.

March 9
Tunisia reported that a 65-year-old man has become its second coronavirus case. This is causing some alarm because he arrived from Italy two weeks ago, before screening began, so it's possible he has passed the infection to others. He was not quarantined until Saturday.

March 11
Tunisia reported one new case among 44 people who were tested for the virus.

March 13
Tunisia has six new cases – four of them linked to travel in Italy and France. The other two are relatives of a man who travelled to Egypt to watch a football match between Zamalek and a Tunisian team.

March 16
Tunisia reported two new cases – both of whom had returned from France. Of the 20 cases confirmed so far, 11 are said to have been infected abroad.

March 19
Of the 29 confirmed cases, 17 are described as "imported" and 12 as "domestic".

March 20
Tunisia reported its first coronavirus death – a 72-year-old woman with chronic illnesses. She is said to have returned from Turkey recently.

March 24
Tunisia: Fourteen new cases were detected as a result of 126 tests carried out, raising the total to 89 confirmed cases. Nissaf Ben Alaya, director of the National Observatory for New and Emerging Diseases, spoke about problems of non-compliance with the government's restrictions. She urged people not to leave their homes, especially Djerba, La Marsa, Berges du Lac and Soukra, which are considered high-risk areas.


UAE

February 25
The Ministry of Health has reported 13 confirmed cases (three are said to have fully recovered). The most recent new cases, reported on Friday, involve a Filipino and a Bangladeshi, both of who had close contact with a Chinese citizen who was previously diagnosed. The civil aviation authority announced on Tuesday that all passenger and cargo flights to and from Iran are suspended for at least one next week. Emiratis have also been told not to travel to Iran or Thailand until further notice.

February 26
The UAE is to carry out "complete surveillance of all people entering the country", according to a government official quoted by Reuters. Of the 13 people diagnosed with the virus in the UAE, three are said to have recovered and two are in a critical condition.

February 28
The UAE confirmed six new cases on Thursday – four Iranians, one Chinese and one Bahraini – bringing the total to 19. The six had all arrived from Iran before the current travel ban was announced.

March 1
Two Italians involved in the UAE Tour – an international cycling event – are now confirmed as having the virus. The final stages of the race, due to have been held on Friday and Saturday, were cancelled when the cases were first suspected. According to the health minister, the two Italians were members of a technical crew "who typically do not mix with participants". Neverthless, 612 people who had contact with them are under observation and so far none have tested positive. Meanwhile, health ministry has cautioned the public against using a type of face mask known as the N95 respirator to protect against coronavirus. It says these are only intended for use by medical staff: "Use of these masks by the general public may impose pressure on the user's respiratory system and may cause respiratory diseases among its users. The use of these masks is also strictly forbidden for children."

March 4
Six new cases were confirmed on Tuesday – two people from Russia, two from Italy, one from Germany, and one from Colombia. All were involved in the UAE Tour cycle race which was cancelled before completion when two Italians were found to have the virus (see March 1 updates). In an interesting new development the Emirati authorities have launched a pilot e-learning project which could allow pupils to continue their studies if they can't attend school.

March 5
A 16-year-old Indian girl has tested positive in Dubai. Her father developed symptoms five days after returning to Dubai and the whole family have been in quarantine since them. Classes at the Indian High School Group of schools have been suspended.

March 6
A 17-year-old Emirati student has tested positive but is said to be not showing any symptoms. Gulf News has provided some more details of the Emirates' new e-learning scheme (see March 4 updates) which is intended to help students during school closures.

March 7
Late on Friday the health ministry reported 15 new cases, of various nationalities. Thirteen of these were detected through the ministry's monitoring system and two others were of people connected with the UAE Tour cycle race (see previous update). The ministry says its cumulative total is now 45 cases, indicating that there is one further case not previously reported in al-bab's daily updates. Until Friday, cases in the UAE had been increasing only slowly but the graph now looks like this:

March 10
Fourteen new cases were reported – four Emiratis plus others from Italy, Bangladesh, Nepal, Russia, Syria and India. This appears to be the first time that a Syrian has been recorded as having the virus.

March 11
Fifteen new cases were confirmed among people already in quarantine. They are of various nationalities – three Italians, two Emiratis, two Sri Lankans, two British, two Indians, one German, one South African, one Tanzanian and one Iranian.

March 13
The 11 new cases involve two Italians, two Filipinos, one Montenegrin, one Canadian, one German, one Pakistani, one Emirati, one Russian and one British citizen. They had already been placed in quarantine before testing positive.

March 15
The central bank announced a Dh100bn ($24bn) economic stimulus package to help offset the effects of coronavirus.

March 18
The education ministry is beginning trials of its new distance education system today. Emirates Post is also developing "contactless" deliveries of packages: "Drivers will now place all items outside the intended recipient’s door ... From a safe distance, couriers will ask recipients to confirm their identity using their full name and ID details in lieu of signatory proof."

March 19
The issuing of work permits for foreign nationals has been suspended from today, except in connection with Expo 2020 which is due to open in October. Entry into the country has also been suspended for foreign nationals with visas, including residency visas.

March 21
UAE: The health ministry announced the country's first two coronavirus-related deaths. One was a 78-year-old Arab man who died of a heart attack "coinciding with complications" from the virus. The other was a 58-year-old Asian resident of the UAE who had heart and kidney problems which were "further complicated" by the virus.

March 24
UAE: Forty-five new cases were confirmed. The Khaleej Times reports that 17 of these were the result of one person breaking quarantine regulations.

March 25
UAE: Following social media pressure, the UAE says it will allow at least some types of internet voice and video (VoIP) calls. These have long been banned in the UAE and banned or restricted in several other Gulf states, apparently for commercial and security reasons. Lifting the ban will allow people to keep in touch more easily while in home isolation.

March 26
UAE: Following yesterday's news that banknotes are being sterilised in Bahrain, the UAE has ordered banks to issue only new notes through ATM cash machines and to provide disposable gloves for customers using the machines.

April 2
UAE: The number of new cases has been increasing significantly over the last few days. The reasons are unclear, and any further information would be gratefully received.

April 6
Residents of the UAE must cover their mouth and nose and wear gloves at all times when outside their home, the government announced at the weekend. But that's the easiest part. Before you can go out, you also have to get permission from the police.

The first step before a trip outdoors is to register your mobile phone number on a police website. You will then be sent a verification code giving access to an online application form.

The form asks for your address, ID details, and car registration number. You also have to tell the police where you intend to go, at what time, and at what time you expect to return home.

This has to be repeated every time you want to go outside. The only trips allowed are for buying food and medicines and visiting a hospital or a doctor. Only one member of a household is allowed to do essential shopping.

Different rules apply to "essential" workers. They don't need to apply but must carry their ID and a letter from their employer at all times.

Speed cameras have been adjusted to photograph all vehicles using the roads during restricted hours at night – even if they are not speeding.

These latest restrictions follow a sharp rise in the number of confirmed infections. The total has trebled over the last six days and now stands at 1,798 confirmed cases.

The authorities say a rise was expected and is the result of "early, intensive tests on a big scale to identify cases and who they were in contact with".

April 7
At least three countries in the Middle East are resorting to technology based around mobile phones in their efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus.

The three – Bahrain, Israel and the UAE – are using it in different ways but the underlying principle is the same in each of them. Mobile phones can tell the authorities where you are, and where you have been.

In the midst of an epidemic this can be used for several purposes: to check that people who are supposed to be in quarantine remain in quarantine, to detect others who are not observing the rules of social isolation, and to identify those who have been in contact with an infected person.

It began in Israel on March 14 when prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced that the authorities would be relying on technology previously used for counter-terrorism purposes in order to track carriers of the disease.

This led to the revelation that the Shin Bet security service maintains a secret database known as "The Tool" which monitors the locations of all mobile phones and all the numbers called.

Aside from counter-terrorism, The Tool can be used to identify those who have been in the "vicinity" of anyone known to be infected and send them text message telling them to self-quarantine.

Ten days after Netanyahu's announcement, Shin Bet said its mass surveillance efforts had so far detected 500 contacts of coronavirus carriers.

While Israel is using technology to trace contacts, the United Arab Emirates is using it mainly to prevent flouting of the social isolation rules (see previous report).

In the UAE, people who are not classified as essential workers are forbidden to leave home without a permit. The process of applying for a permit (which has to be repeated for every trip outdoors) starts with registering the applicant's mobile phone number on a police website.

Applicants then have to provide details of where they want to go, what time they will set out, and what time they expect to return home. Records of the phone's location can be checked to see whether the user has complied with the permit.

Meanwhile, the government of Bahrain has launched a phone app called "BeAware Bahrain". The app is partly intended to give health information relating to the virus but it has other purposes too.

As in Israel, it will notify people if they come close to someone who is known to be infected.

It will also track people who are in compulsory home in quarantine – and in this case it is combined with GPS technology, which the Bahrainis believe will make it more effective.

According to Gulf News, users of the app must set their location via their phone when they start the quarantine but they are also required to wear a GPS wristband. An alert is sent to the authorities if the wearer of the wristband moves more than 15 metres from the relevant phone.

Removing the wristband or tampering with it can result in a minimum jail sentence of three months, and/or a fine of 10,000 dinars ($26,000).

There will also be spot checks, Gulf News says. The health ministry can demand selfies from quarantined people showing both their face and the wristband.

All this is highly intrusive and in some ways scary, though in the current situation its use can be defended on the grounds that it helps to protect the public from a potentially deadly illness. But once the plague has passed the technology can't be uninvented. It will still be there, available for other purposes.

April 11
While many countries are struggling to raise levels of testing for the Covid-19 virus, the UAE has been pressing ahead and has now carried out almost 600,000 tests. This is far more than any other country in the Middle East and, worldwide, it's surpassed only by the US, Germany, Russia and Italy.

Getting tested in the UAE is relatively straightforward, at least for those with health insurance and Emirati ID. People who think they have symptoms answer some questions via an app and, depending of the results of this "preliminary evaluation", may then be offered an appointment for testing. Priority is given to those who have symptoms, plus senior citizens, pregnant women and those with chronic conditions.

People with no symptoms who just want reassurance can have the test by paying 370 dirhams ($100).

During the past week the UAE has opened 13 drive-through testing centres, each capable of testing 600 people a day. There are also plans to test 50,000 migrant workers within a month.

As a result of 89,000 tests during the last few days, 701 new Covid-19 cases have been discovered. In some ways this is reassuring, because although the number of new cases is high, it means less than 1% of the tests turned out positive. It also means that those detected can now be prevented from transmitting the virus to anyone else.

April 17
Migrant workers are bearing the brunt of the coronavirus epidemic in the wealthy Gulf states. Often living in over-crowded accommodation, they are at particular risk of infection. Many are now also jobless. Some have been deported. Thousands more want to return home – but can't.

Indian citizens in the UAE have been receiving messages inviting them to apply to their consulate for repatriation, but both the consulate in Dubai and the embassy in Abu Dhabi say the messages are fakes. At present, India has no plans to repatriate its citizens.

The UAE has offered to help with repatriation of Indians and others, so long as they test negative before leaving. A Sharjah-based airline, Air Arabia, is willing to fly them home but at present its flights to India are carrying only cargo.

India's Supreme Court has ruled that citizens stranded abroad cannot return home for at least another month. This is due to fears that they will bring infection with them. Government figures in the Indian state of Kerala, for example, indicate that Dubai was the source of 89 out of 119 Covid-19 cases that arrived from abroad.

The Indian authorities are facing pressure from several directions – internally from those who see keeping expatriates out as a necessary protection, from expatriates who see it as an infringement of their rights as citizens, and from the Emiratis who are now threatening to revise their labour relations with India if it doesn't become more cooperative.

Among the large Pakistani community in the Emirates, 40,000 have now registered for repatriation, according to their consulate in Dubai. Pakistan is due to start flying them home on Saturday but warns that the process will be slow because of the numbers involved and the limited facilities for testing and quarantining them when they arrive. In the meantime, the consulate has distributed food rations to 8,500 Pakistanis but a further 11,000 are still waiting because of delivery problems "due to the situation".

Figures published by the Times of India yesterday show that among Indian citizens who have tested positive for Covid-19 while abroad, more than 60% are in the Gulf states. The paper listed the numbers of known cases:

Bahrain 135
Kuwait 785
Oman 297
Qatar 420
Saudi 186
UAE 238


Yemen

February 28
Quarantine facilities are being prepared at al-Sadaqa hospital in Aden. According to the Saudi newspaper Arab News, hospital workers staged a sit-in and local residents protested outside, fearing that this could spread the virus in surrounding areas.

March 15
No coronavirus cases have been confirmed so far but the Saudi-backed (anti-Houthi) government is suspending all flights to and from the airports under its control – Aden, Sayoun and Mukalla.

April 9
War-torn Yemen is one of the few countries in the world where no Covid-19 cases have yet been reported, but it's widely expected that if the virus does take hold there the result will be catastrophic.

Yesterday, at the behest of the UN's special envoy, the Saudi-led coalition which has been fighting Houthi forces for the last five years announced a ceasefire. Initially it's for two weeks but it could be extended.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said the move was to create "a conducive environment" for the UN’s de-escalation efforts and "to alleviate the suffering of the brotherly people of Yemen and support the efforts towards combatting the spread of Covid-19 pandemic."

So far, though, it's unclear whether the Houthis will agree.

April 10
Coronavirus has now arrived in Yemen. The country's first case of Covid-19 was reported early today in ash-Shihr, a small port on the Indian Ocean coast of Hadramaut province.

Reuters quotes a local official as saying the person diagnosed is a Yemeni who works in the port.

Yemen is already in a terrible state due to five years of war. Health services are depleted, millions are under-nourished and a coronavirus epidemic there would be catastrophic.

That is once of the reasons why the Saudi-led coalition has announced a temporary ceasefire in its war with the Houthis who control much of northern Yemen. The Houthis have yet to agree, and they appear to be holding out for a lifting of the coalition's blockade.

"If any ceasefire does not include the removal of the siege on Yemen, that would be the continuation of the Saudi war," Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' Political Bureau, told al-Mayadeen TV.

Regarding the virus, the crucial question is whether it can be contained. Ash-Shihr is a relatively small place, so there's a chance that it can. But much will depend on how diligent the local authorities are in preventing its spread – which in Yemen is hard to predict.

So far, the authorities seem aware of the need for swift action and this morning the governor of Hadramaut announced an immediate lockdown of ash-Shihr. Yafa News reports the governor as saying the patient and his family have been isolated, along with "all the people he met during the previous period".

Photos from ash-Shihr this morning show shops shuttered, with troops patrolling the streets. A video also shows a civil defence vehicle touring the town with a loudspeaker urging everyone to stay indoors.

April 11
It's very likely that more Covid-19 infections will emerge in Yemen following the discovery on Friday of the country's first case – in ash-Shihr on the coast of Hadramaut province.

The infected person is described as a 73-year-old Yemeni man who lives near the harbour and possibly works there. He does not appear to have been in isolation before his test and, according to the governor of Hadramaut, had been carrying the virus for at least 10 days before being diagnosed. His family have been quarantined and efforts are going on to trace his other contacts – though this may be difficult. A resident quoted by The National says he had mixed with many people.

Ash-Shihr has been under a full curfew since Friday morning, and restrictions are expected to be imposed on the rest of Hadramaut shortly. The neighbouring provinces of al-Mahrah and Shabwa have closed their crossing points into Hadramaut.

Further west, land routes into the port of Aden (which serves as the temporary capital of the internationally-recognised "legitimate" government) have been sealed since Friday night. Ships arriving at the port are being checked and disinfected before being allowed to enter.

April 24
Yemen is officially clear of coronavirus cases following the recovery of its first – and so far only – Covid-19 patient.

A Yemeni man working in the port of ash-Shihr, on the Indian Ocean coast of Hadramaut province, was diagnosed with the virus on April 10. The town was immediately placed under curfew and preventive measures were imposed in neighbouring areas. Since, then, no further cases have been reported.

For now, the war-torn country appears to have been spared a major outbreak which, in view of its crumbling health system and widespread malnourishment, could easily prove catastrophic.

Following the discovery of the case in ash-Shihr, 120 people were quarantined amid efforts to trace his contacts. A team from the World Health Organisation carried out an unspecified number of tests and all the initial results were said to be negative.

Two weeks have now elapsed since the ash-Shihr case came to light, so it looks as if the man hadn't passed the virus to anyone else before being taken to hospital.

Ash-Shir is in the south of the country – theoretically under the control of Yemen's internationally recognised government which was driven out of the capital, Sanaa, by the Houthi movement. The Houthis, who control much of the north, have not reported any cases, though they have connections with Iran which has been the source of many Covid-19 infections in the Arabian Peninsula.

Iran's semi-official Fars News responded to the case in ash-Shihr by suggesting the man had been deliberately infected by American forces who it said arrived in the town two days earlier. There's no reason to believe this, because symptoms normally take at least five days to appear. According to one report, the man was already in hospital and showing symptoms on the day he was supposedly infected by Americans.

One positive outcome from the ash-Shihr case is that it has focused attention on Yemen's plight, revitalising efforts to end the five-year-old war and – possibly – increasing its preparedness for a more serious outbreak of the virus.

One major challenge is how to prevent infected people from bringing the virus into the country. An article in the medical journal The Lancet notes:

"Most of Yemen's points of entry have little or no technical capacity or established system to deal effectively with travellers with suspected infection.

"Furthermore, Yemen has long coastal boarders, which regularly receive thousands of migrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa. How the country can apply public health measures in response to migrants' movement across its permeable borders and seaports is as yet unclear."

Last week the New York Times reported that ventilators are in very short supply. One hospital in Sanaa has 20 but 15 of them need fixing. In Taizz, Yemen's third largest city, the Jumhuriya hospital has just four ventilators and the wing assigned for treating coronavirus cases still has no beds, protective equipment for staff, or functioning bathrooms.

Nevertheless, the Yemenis do have some experience of dealing with serious epidemics – there have been more than two million suspected cholera cases, for example, during the last four years. According to The Lancet, the country has an effective early warning system based around health facilities: "Evidence from previous outbreaks of cholera and diphtheria shows the capability of the national health system to establish and maintain an event-based surveillance if needed. However, some flaws still exist ... the national laboratory system is rudimentary."

On Wednesday it was reported that vital medical supplies are on their way – courtesy of a group of multinational companies known collectively as the "International Initiative on Covid-19 in Yemen" (IICY). The supplies are said to include tens of thousands of test kits, 225 ventilators and half a million face masks, with the first shipment due to arrive next week.

The United States is also reported to be preparing a “substantial contribution” to help Yemen combat the virus. At present, though, it's unclear what this might involve or how the aid might might be distributed if/when it reaches Yemen.

The most effective way would be to channel the money through the World Health Organisation but Donald Trump recently suspended funding to the WHO, accusing it of "severely mismanaging and covering up" the spread of the virus. The Americans are said to be looking for alternative partners to work with in Yemen but they are unlikely to find any that meet with Trump's approval.

April 30

Covid-19 has reappeared in Yemen with the announcement of five new cases in the southern city of Aden. This could scarcely have come at a worse time. Last week the city was declared a disaster area after flash floods swept several people away and caused streets to be bathed in sewage. In the meantime, political wrangling over who controls the city is likely to complicate efforts to contain the virus. On top of that, health services have been strugggling with an outbreak of Dengue Fever which is blamed for more than 40 deaths in Aden.

Yemen's first Covid-19 case came to light on April 10 when a man in ash-Shihr, a small port on the southern coast of Hadramaut province, was diagnosed with the disease. Two weeks later he was said to have recovered; tests on his known contacts proved negative and for a few days the country was officially clear of the virus.

Aden – Yemen's main seaport – lies 500km west of ash-Shihr, so the outbreak there is probably from a different source. The five new cases, including two people who have died, were announced by Nasser Ba'oum, health minister in the Saudi-backed "legitimate" government which controls southern parts of the country.

In a rather confusing statement on television, he said the people concerned had been tested twice and the results were positive but the authorities were "not completely sure" what the disease was.

Nevertheless, the five new cases are being treated as Covid-19 "until proved otherwise", according to the minister, and are included in the World Health Organisation's latest Covid-19 statistics.

Aden is at the centre of a long-running tussle between two rival elements in the war against the Houthis who control much of northern Yemen. The internationally-recognised government of President Hadi – ousted from the capital, Sana'a – claims the city as its temporary capital. But Aden is also claimed by the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist movement which seeks to control the south.

These divisions are also reflected internationally in the Saud-led coalition ranged against the Houthis, with the Saudis supporting Hadi's ineffectual government while their chief ally, the UAE, tends to favour the separatists.

This raises lots of questions about how the coronavirus outbreak will be handled – and by whom.There have been periodic clashes in the south between the rival factions for a couple of years. Last August the separatists made a push to seize control but the result was a stand-off. On Sunday, though, the STC made another move, declaring self-rule in Aden and other parts of the south.

In response to the new infections, the STC has declared a three-day round-the-clock curfew in Aden, but since the STC's rule is not officially recognised international bodies such as the WHO may feel obliged to work with the Hadi government rather than the STC.

There have been unconfirmed reports of Covid-19 cases in other parts of the country and on Tuesday the UN said there is "a very real probability that the virus has been circulating undetected and unmitigated within communities".

May 3

Ten Covid-19 cases have now been confirmed in war-torn Yemen where health services face an increasingly desperate situation. Aside from coronavirus, they are already struggling with at least two other plagues – dengue fever and chikungunya.

The seat of the Covid-19 outbreak is the southern city of Aden where 25 people in various parts of the city are reported to have died from undiagnosed causes during the last few days.

Nineteen of them died in their homes on Friday, according to the Yemeni website Al-Masdar Online. Symptoms described included joint pain, which is more characteristic of dengue and/or chikungunya than Covid-19.

Dengue and chikungunya (known locally as "al-makrafus") are common diseases in Yemen. They are spread by mosquitoes and it's not unusual for people to catch both viruses from the same insect bite. A surge in new cases was expected following last month's natural disaster when floods swept through Aden.

Al-Masdar reports that some of those who have died were turned away from local hospitals while others chose not to have treatment, fearing they would become infected with Covid-19 if they went to hospital.

Their fears of local health services were not unreasonable. A photo posted on Twitter on Thursday shows the city's main hospital – the 500-bed Gomhoria teaching hospital – surrounded by rubbish and floodwater.

The announcement on Wednesday that five Covid-19 cases had been confirmed in Aden led some of the private hospitals to close while others are not admitting patients with symptoms that could be Covid-19. This is blamed on a lack of protective equipment for medical staff, and there are stories circulating in the city of doctors and nurses abandoning their jobs.

Of the three most recently confirmed Covid-19 cases, two were in Aden and one in Taizz province, further north.

The Taizz case is described as a 40-year-old man who works in a jewellery shop in Aden. He had travelled to Taizz province by car with his family last Monday despite having developed symptoms two days earlier. He is said to have been reported to the authorities by someone in a fish market and was then taken to the Republican General Hospital in Taizz city.

News of the man's infection has since prompted demonstrations outside the hospital by local residents who object to having Covid-19 patients treated nearby – for fear they might catch the disease. They demanded that such cases should be transferred to "an empty area outside the city".

May 5

There are growing signs that the Covid-19 outbreak in Yemen may be impossible to contain following confirmation of two new cases in the south-eastern province of Hadramaut.

This raises the number of known cases in the war-torn country to 12, including two deaths.

No details have been given about the latest cases, except that they are being treated at an isolation facility in Mukalla, a port city on the southern coast which is Hadramaut's provincial capital. It's unclear whether the two people were infected in Mukalla or transferred there from somewhere else for treatment.

So far, all confirmed infections have occurred in parts of the country which are controlled (nominally, at least) by the internationally-recognised government of President Hadi which was ousted from the capital, Sana'a, by Houthi rebels.

The Houthis, who control much of the north, have not reported any cases – but that doesn't mean there are none. Several doctors in Sana'a have described patients with symptoms resembling Covid-19 but have been unable to get confirmation.

May 6

The Houthis who rule over much of northern Yemen have now confirmed what many had long suspected: that the Covid-19 virus is present in the territory they control.

Yesterday their health minister announced that a man found dead in a hotel in the capital, Sana'a, on Sunday had been posthumously tested – and the result was positive.

Doctors in Sana'a have previously described patients with symptoms resembling Covid-19 but have been unable to get confirmation. However, the Houthis are still not acknowledging that any Yemenis in the north have been infected, since the man who died was Somali.

Nevertheless, ten districts of the capital, including the Old City, have been placed under a 24-hour curfew which began at dawn today.

Meanwhile, nine new cases were reported yesterday in the south which is controlled (up to a point) by the internationally recognised government. This means there have now been 22 confirmed cases in the war-torn country, including four deaths.

As in the north, though, there's anecdotal evidence that significant numbers of cases are not being detected – with the result that they are likely to infect others.

"This is the worst-case scenario we have been fearing," Xavier Joubert, country director of Save the Children, said yesterday. "The coronavirus is spreading across the country and has now reached the north of Yemen, home to some of the most vulnerable children and families in this humanitarian catastrophe. A ceasefire must happen immediately.

"After five years of war and with only half of the health facilities across the country fully functional, Yemen is simply not equipped to handle a full-scale outbreak.

"So far 200 people have been tested for Covid-19, but we do not know the true scale of the outbreak. We need to focus on awareness-raising and making sure people know which measures are needed to limit the spread of the virus, including contact tracing and isolation measures.

"Expert staff must be allowed to travel to all affected parts of Yemen to provide much needed support for these interventions. It’s the only way to curb the spread of the virus.

"None of this can be done if the fighting continues, if people are afraid to go outside to seek help and if health workers are at risk of attack. The violence needs to stop, now, before the outbreak becomes out of control."

May 7

Evidence has emerged that the Houthi movement's unrecognised government in northern Yemen is concealing Covid-19 infections even after they have been confirmed by laboratory testing.

So far, the Houthis have not acknowledged any cases among Yemenis in the areas they control, though they have reported the death of a Somali refugee who tested positive for the disease.

However, a document circulated online shows that at least four other confirmed cases have not been disclosed by the Houthis.

The document lists the results of tests on 22 Yemenis, and four of them are positive. Three of those infected are men in the Tahrir district of the capital, Sanaa, while the fourth case is a female in Ibb province.

Tahrir is one of ten districts in the capital that were placed under a one-day curfew on the morning after the lab results were returned. Residents were told to stay indoors while "community committees" sprayed the streets with disinfectant.

This was officially presented as a "pilot scheme" to test the capabilities of the committees and work teams in dealing with any future coronavirus-related emergency.

While not admitting that they already have an emergency on their hands, the Houthis don't want to appear unprepared and on Monday their Committee for Epidemic Control "approved the concept" of establishing a 3,000-bed field hospital for Covid-19 cases.

In southern parts of the country, controlled (up to a point) by the internationally-recognised government of the exiled president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, 24 cases have now been confirmed – mostly in Aden but also in the provinces of Taizz, Lahij and Hadramaut. As in the north, there have been numerous unconfirmed reports of deaths among people who appeared to have Covid-19 symptoms.

Besides its conflict with the Houthis, the recognised government is currently being challenged in Aden by a separatist movement, the Southern Transitional Council.

Amid rival claims to power in Yemen and the continuing armed conflict, it's difficult to see how efforts to contain the emerging epidemic can be effectively coordinated – especially if one or more sides are being less than honest about the situation.