Loans – Jordan defers agriculture loans amid Covid-19

COUNTRY LATEST UPDATES

Saudi Arabia               

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 356,911
• Recoveries: 346,023
• Deaths: 5,870

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 23 November: Ministry of Well being plans to supply free vaccines to 70 per cent of the inhabitants, together with residents and expats that haven’t but contracted Covid-19, by the tip of subsequent 12 months. Abdullah Asiri, the ministry’s assistant undersecretary for preventive well being, mentioned these aged beneath 16 years wouldn’t be vaccinated except analysis proves iti s needed to take action. Saudi Arabia is procuring vaccines via the Covax vaccine alliance and direct negotiations with non-public sector producers. Assistant to the minister of well being and official spokesperson of the ministry, Muhammad al-Abd al-Aly, mentioned solely these vaccines that wouldn’t have unwanted side effects and are authorized by authorities will likely be supplied.
• 18 November: General Presidency of the Grand Holy Mosque & Prophet’s Holy Mosque Affairs reveals sterilisation programme for the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The operation requires greater than 4,000 employees in 4 shifts, and the method of cleansing and sterilising the mosque and its courtyards takes 35 minutes.
• 2 November: Well being Ministry warns of second wave of Covid-19. The ministry’s undersecretary for public well being, Hani Joukhadar, mentioned second waves had been already prevalent in elements of Europe, including: “In Saudi Arabia, we count on a rise in instances because the climate is altering and extra individuals are inspired to exit and collect in houses. We additionally discover that individuals are much less dedicated to sporting masks in public locations.”
• 18 October: President General of the Grand Holy Mosque & Prophet’s Holy Mosque Affairs, Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz al-Sudais, inaugurates disinfection and sterilisation machine on the Prophet’s Holy Mosque and Al-Rawdah Al-Sharifah.
• 12 October: Well being Ministry calls on sufferers with uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, weight problems, cirrhosis and coronary artery illness, amongst others, to postpone Umrah plans as Covid-19 dangers persist. 

 Measures to minimise the financial disaster:   

• 19 November: Saudi Arabia will overview its elevated fee of VAT after the pandemic ends, performing Media Minister Majid al-Qasabi reportedly mentioned. He added that the choice to triple VAT earlier this 12 months was a “painful” one and that shopper safety would stay a precedence for the dominion.
• 27 October: Cupboard approves plan to allocate SR500,000 ($133,340) for households of well being employees who’ve died from Covid-19. The grant will apply to those that labored in each private and non-private sectors, civilian or army and to all nationalities, and recorded their an infection from 2 March onwards. 
• 25 October: Hajj & Umrah Ministry points tips for Umrah performers from exterior Saudi Arabia, who will likely be permitted to conduct the pilgrimage beneath the third section of the dominion’s programme from 1 November. Pilgrims aged 18-50 years will likely be permitted, and so they should present a polymerase chain response (PCR) examination certificates with a unfavourable consequence obtained inside 72 hours earlier than the time of departure to the dominion. Pilgrims should even have a previous reservation to carry out Umrah and prayers within the Grand Mosque and to go to different holy websites.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

UAE

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 166,502
• Recoveries: 153,449
• Deaths: 569

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 24 November: Etihad Airways companions with data expertise firm SITA to trial the usage of facial biometrics for cabin crew on the airline’s crew briefing centre at Abu Dhabi Worldwide airport.
• Four November: Abu Dhabi Disaster, Emergencies & Disasters Committee updates the necessities to enter the emirate, as a part of efforts to reinforce the preventative measures for the early detection of Covid-19. Residents and guests who enter Abu Dhabi from eight November and keep for 4 or extra consecutive days will likely be required to take a PCR check on the fourth day of their keep. In the event that they keep for eight or extra consecutive days, they need to take one other PCR check on the eighth day. Entry have to be inside 48 hours of receiving a unfavourable PCR or diffractive section interferometry (DPI) check consequence. The present PCR check required on day six is not going to be necessary for these coming into from eight November, and volunteers in Covid-19 vaccine trials are exempt from the measures.
• 2 November: Khalifa College of Science & Know-how says a workforce of researchers at its Aerospace Analysis & Innovation Centre is creating a reusable 3D-printed masks as a possible alternative for traditional N95 masks which might be briefly provide. A prototype has already been printed and, as soon as accomplished, an evaluation will likely be carried out earlier than it’s certified and authorized.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster:   

• 28 November: Abu Dhabi Ports allocates 19,000 square-metre temperature-controlled warehouse facility in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi amid efforts as a part of the UAE’s Hope Consortium. The power already homes greater than 1 million vials of the vaccine. Individually, Sultan bin Ahmed al-Jaber, Minister of Trade and Superior Know-how, presides over the second assembly of the Covid-19 Disaster Restoration Administration and Governance Committee.
• 25 November: Abu Dhabi launches Hope Consortium, representing a whole provide chain for the transport, demand planning, sourcing, coaching and digital expertise infrastructure preparation for a Covid-19 vaccine. The consortium can deal with greater than six billion doses from the vaccines beneath improvement world wide in 2021, elevating by greater than thrice by end-2021. Switzerland’s Skycell will develop a regional service and manufacturing hub in Abu Dhabi as a part of the consortium, which additionally contains the Division of Well being Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Ports Group and Rafed, the ADQ’s healthcare buying arm. 
• 23 November: Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Trade, on behalf of the non-public sector, has introduced a donation of AED750,000 to the Al-Jalila Basis to fund medical analysis within the UAE. The donation will cowl Covid-19 analysis, along with most cancers, cardiovascular illnesses, diabetes, weight problems and psychological well being.
• 22 November: Division of Tradition & Tourism – Abu Dhabi shares future plans and tasks with trade companions, together with the implementation of a cashless fee system throughout all shopper touchpoints inside the sector, and the event of a devoted bus route for tourism websites, which is able to make transport throughout the emirate extra accessible, handy and inexpensive for guests.
• 19 November: Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al-Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, points directive to cut back commerce licence renewal charges and fines for violations issued by any native entities or departments by 50 per cent for exhibition and occasions corporations within the emirate for a interval of 12 months. The initiative goals to help the conferences, incentives, conferences and exhibitions trade within the UAE.
• 18 November: Dubai Tradition & Arts Authority (DCAA) evaluations steps taken to minimise the impression of Covid-19 on the town’s cultural sector. DCAA and Artwork Jameel launched a small grants programme for artists and creators affected by the pandemic, and the authority signed a partnership with LinkedIn to help creators and artists with greater than 100 on-line coaching programs freed from cost.
• 17 November: Federal Authority for Id & Citizenship (ICA) points choice to increase the grace interval of exemption for all violators of the entry and residence of foreigners legislation till 31 December 2020. The extension is for many who violated the entry and foreigners’ residence legislation earlier than 1 March. These people will likely be exempted from all fines, together with these for nationwide ID playing cards, supplied they depart the nation. Director-general of foreigners affairs and ports at ICA, Saeed Rakan al-Rashidi, mentioned the grace interval extension is to allow violators to regulate their standing within the nation earlier than the tip of the 12 months.
• 16 November: Central Bank of the UAE extends applicability interval of Focused Financial Assist Scheme (Tess) till 30 June 2021. The financial stimulus package deal was launched in March to help reduction measures within the banking sector. The central bank will prolong the period of the AED50bn, zero-cost facility for retail and company banking prospects for six months. From 1 January 2021, banks and finance corporations taking part within the Tess scheme will have the ability to present new loans and amenities to prospects impacted by Covid-19 within the UAE. Up to now, Tess’s loan deferral programme has supported 310,000 retail prospects, 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and 1,500 non-public sector corporations, a press release carried by state-run Wam mentioned.
• 15 November: Sharjah Financial Improvement Division reopens wedding ceremony and occasion halls as a part of the gradual plan for the return of financial and social actions within the emirate. Precautionary measures to be adopted embody sporting face masks and gloves, adhering to a 2 metre social distancing coverage, and guaranteeing that attendance ranges don’t exceed 50 per cent of a venue’s capability.
• 13 November: Omani residents exempted from the requirement of prior approval to enter the nation via land ports from 16 November. They are required to current a unfavourable PCR check consequence, supplied the pre-examination is from accredited laboratories of their nation and that the validity interval of the check doesn’t exceed 48 hours from the date of the check. They’re additionally required to conduct a Covid-19 check on the ports upon arrival and observe all preventive and precautionary measures in accordance with the authorized protocols, along with putting in the Al-Hosn cellular utility. A PCR check is compulsory on the fourth day if they’ve stayed for 4 consecutive days within the UAE.
• 10 November: Researchers from New York College Abu Dhabi’s biology programme and Centre for Genomics & Programs Biology have carried out a three-step testing method that guarantees to considerably and cost-effectively enhance testing accuracy for Covid-19. 
• eight November: Mubadala Healthcare says it is part-funding the trial of an immune-dampening drug within the UK that may assist sufferers with diabetes overcome the results of the virus. The UK’s Medicines & Healthcare Merchandise Company authorized the trial, generally known as Arcadia, following preclinical analysis that implies a glucose kinase activator (AZD1656) may assist diabetes sufferers with Covid-19 by dampening the overactive response of the immune system that’s usually acute in these sufferers with raised blood glucose ranges. The trial commenced on 29 September, and concerned hospitalised sufferers with delicate to reasonable Covid-19 signs. If profitable, the compound may finally be prescribed by a main care doctor for folks with diabetes presenting with early Covid-19 signs.
• Four November: Trade & Superior Know-how Minister Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber chairs the primary assembly of the Nationwide Covid-19 Disaster Restoration Administration & Governance Committee. The committee’s working plan was offered and dealing teams had been recognized for goal sectors that embody well being, schooling, meals, society, safety and the financial system. The proposal for a strategic plan for restoration from Covid-19 was additionally reviewed. 
• Three November: Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan al-Qasimi, Crown Prince, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairman of Sharjah Govt Council, approves the second stimulus package deal of Sharjah authorities incentives. The value of the second stimulus package deal is AED512m. Incentives within the first package deal had been estimated at AED481m. 
• 2 November: Dubai Economic system reveals it has carried out a workshop exploring how the private and non-private sectors can collaborate and co-shape the healthcare sector within the metropolis following the worldwide Covid-19 outbreak. Individually, Al-Jalila Basis awards AED2.5m in seed grants to 5 UAE-based medical researchers centered on Covid-19. The Covid-19 analysis grants within the areas of genetics, therapies and prognosis are the primary to be awarded beneath the remit of the not too long ago inaugurated Mohammed Bin Rashid Medical Analysis Institute to assist improve the UAE’s capability to deal with the pandemic and different viral illnesses sooner or later. The UAE’s Central Bank, in the meantime, reviewed the Focused Financial Assist Scheme that goals to cut back the impression of Covid-19 by easing financing burdens within the nation. Up to now, the loan deferment scheme has supported greater than 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and 1,500 non-public sector corporations.
• 1 November: The Ajman Emergency, Disaster & Catastrophe Group permits the resumption of wedding ceremony celebrations and different events held in halls, accommodations and homes within the emirate from 1 November. Main General Sheikh Sultan bin Abdullah al-Nuaimi, commander-in-chief of the Ajman Police and chairman of the workforce, mentioned that the choice stipulates that the variety of invitees shouldn’t exceed 200 in venues and 50 in celebrations held at house, whereas solely 5 individuals are allowed to sit down on the similar desk, emphasising that each one individuals should adhere to the precautionary measures adopted by the nation, akin to sporting face masks and sustaining social distancing.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Bahrain

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 86,645
• Recoveries: 84,785
• Deaths: 341

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• Three November: Bahrain authorises the emergency use of a coronavirus vaccine amongst frontline healthcare employees in direct contact with lively Covid-19 instances. The approval follows comparable efforts within the UAE final month.
• 1 November: The Well being Ministry suspends lessons at Al-Rawabi non-public faculty as a precautionary measure for 10 days from 2 November. On-line lessons will likely be held throughout the interval.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster:  

• 22 November: Data & eGovernment Authority pronounces a brand new service to the BeAware Bahrain app that permits customers to add photographs of their Covid-19 speedy antigen check outcomes to the app and submit them to related authorities on the Well being Ministry. The usage of the service is necessary for all optimistic instances in an effort to be sure that they obtain the mandatory assist, to look at the accuracy of the check, assess their signs and to set a date for a nasal swab PCR check. The service is optionally available for instances with unfavourable outcomes.
• 10 November: Infectious illnesses marketing consultant and microbiologist on the BDF Hospital, Manaf al-Qahtani, says Bahrain positioned an order in August to buy greater than 1 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccines being developed by BioNTech and Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinopharm. 
• Three November: Well being Ministry to promote speedy antigen check in pharmacies throughout Bahrain, with a ceiling price of BD4. The Covid-19 speedy antigen check gives ends in 15 minutes with an accuracy fee of 93 per cent.
• 2 November: Cupboard approves draft funds for 2021-22 fiscal 12 months, which estimates revenues of BD2.28bn and BD2.33bn in 2021 and 2022, respectively. General deficit is estimated at BD1.2bn in 2021 and BD1.1bn in 2022. Manama mentioned its fiscal stability programme had achieved targets set for 2019, however lowered oil costs and “the unprecedented financial impression of Covid-19 on non-oil revenues has elevated the general deficit”. 

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Kuwait

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 142,195
• Recoveries: 135,889
• Deaths: 875

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 23 October: Well being Ministry says allegations of sufferers being denied hospital admission are “divorced from actuality”, including that residents and residents should proceed to stick to precautionary measures to curb the unfold of Covid-19. 

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 24 November: Ministry of Well being says the BNT162 Covid-19  vaccine will attain Kuwait by the tip of this 12 months, and utilization will likely be topic to approval of native regulatory authorities. Assistant undersecretary for medicines and medical provides, Abdullah al-Bader, mentioned an settlement has been reached with Pfizer and BioNTech, which developed the vaccine, to provide the vaccine to Kuwait.
• 19 November: Kuwait’s cupboard ministers design plan to carry again the nation’s home employees, approving the “pressing completion” of a two-phased method as outlined by Kuwait’s aviation regulator chief Sheikh Salman Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah. The primary a part of the plan offers with journey procedures mandating a employee’s sponsor to submit a request on-line for the return of the employee in query, and the second pertains to the monetary bills wanted to facilitate the return of the employee.
• Three November: Kuwait provider Jazeera Airways is revealed to have laid off 200 workers in September, with the transfer predominantly protecting pilots and cabin crew. The airline had let go of 300 workers in March.  
• 28 October: Cupboard handpicks seniors, sufferers with continual illnesses, medics, frontline employees and suppliers of primary providers as main classes to be vaccinated in opposition to Covid-19 as soon as the nation takes supply of a primary cargo of vaccines.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Oman

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 122,579
• Recoveries: 113,856
• Deaths: 1,391

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 12 November: Well being Minister Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Saeedi says the discount in case numbers shouldn’t be taken as an excuse to disregard precautionary measures, including: “We intend to obtain enough vaccines to cover 40 per cent of the population as a first stage, hopefully before the end of this year.”
• 1 November: Supreme committee managing Covid-19 says arrivals to Oman should bear a PCR check inside a interval of no more than 96 hours previous to entry time. They need to additionally bear the identical check upon arriving in Oman, observe a seven-day quarantine interval and repeat the PCR check on the eighth day. 

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 10 November: Labour Ministry says expatriate employees wishing to depart Oman and return to their house nation are allowed to take action from 15 November 2020. The ministry additionally exempted all employers and expatriate employees from charges and fines registered in opposition to licences for working towards professions by expatriate employees, supplied they depart the sultanate between 15 November and 31 December. That is according to the selections of the Supreme Committee tasked with tackling developments ensuing from Covid-19, the Labour Ministry mentioned.
• 1 November: Finance Ministry pronounces the Fiscal Steadiness Plan 2020-24 in response to the stoop in oil costs and Covid-19.  

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Qatar

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 138,477
• Recoveries: 135,651
• Deaths: 237

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 19 November: 2020 FIFA Membership World Cup, resulting from be held in Qatar in December, is rescheduled to 1-11 February 2021. 
• 21 October: Chairman of Nationwide Strategic Group on Covid-19 and head of Hamad Medical Company’s infectious illnesses division, Abdullatif al-Khal, says faculties will likely be closed for 2 weeks if three Covid-19 instances are detected in the identical class, or if 5 per cent of scholars or workers are contaminated. The variety of instances amongst faculty college students is lower than 1 per cent of the overall nationwide tally, he mentioned, including: “Epidemiologists in Qatar don’t count on a brand new wave however the image will develop into clear about the potential of a brand new wave of the virus throughout the subsequent 4 or eight weeks.”

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 11 November: Administrative Improvement, Labour & Social Affairs Ministry to renew means of issuing labour recruitment from 15 November after a short lived suspenion resulting from Covid-19. The entry of recent recruits will proceed in accordance with the journey and return coverage of Qatar specified by the Supreme Committee for Disaster Administration.
• 10 November: Pfizer‘s and BioNTech‘s vaccine, if authorized, may attain Qatar within the coming months. Chair of the Nationwide Well being Strategic Group and head of infectious illnesses at Hamad Medical Company, Abdullatif al-Khal, mentioned: “Now we have been working with Pfizer and BioNTech because the summer time and they’re assured that if their vaccine will get the mandatory regulatory approval, Qatar will have the ability to obtain an preliminary amount of vaccines by the tip of this 12 months, or very early in 2021.”

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Iran

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 935,799
• Recoveries: 648,831
• Deaths: 47,486

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 21 November: Contemporary curbs imposed however Tehran streets “crowded despite the restrictions”, state TV mentioned within the morning. Some non-essential companies had been open, however the state channel later reportedly confirmed principally empty streets and shuttered outlets. Reuters reported that President Hassan Rouhani mentioned the two-week restrictions may very well be prolonged if the specified outcomes weren’t achieved.
• 16 November: Rouhani instructs authorities to “clearly and precisely” talk newly deliberate curbs for ‘pink’, ‘yellow’ and ‘orange’ threat zones by 18 November, three days earlier than the restrictions take impact. 
• 15 November: Rouhani declares “the general mobilisation of the nation and the government” to fight the third wave of Covid-19 within the nation, including: “I name on all governmental organisations and different forces and establishments to hurry to assistance from the Well being Ministry and well being employees with all attainable means.”
• 14 November: Rouhani says a plan has been ready to accentuate restrictions from 21 November, together with a shutdown of companies and providers and restrictions on vehicles leaving greater than 100 cities. He added: “The aim of the intensification of those restrictions is for the folks to totally perceive that that is an state of emergency and everybody should assist to get us out of this case with the least hurt.”
• 10 November: Nightly curfew to be imposed on companies in Tehran and different cities as measure to stop overwhelming hospital capability. For one month, all companies within the capital and 30 different cities should shut at 6pm, AP studies. Solely grocery shops and pharmacies are allowed to stay open.
• 5 November: Rouhani pronounces extreme restrictions for 2 weeks in pink zones, understood to cowl 25 provinces.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 28 November: President Hassan Rouhani addresses efforts by the Ministry of Well being to develop a Covid-19 vaccine domestically and purchase international vaccines, including: “The Central Bank is obliged to supply cash for the event of vaccine contained in the nation and buy from overseas on the request of the Ministry of Well being to get the vaccine on the proper time.”
• 21 October: Rouhani calls on vp and head of the Plan & Finances Organisation, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, to fulfil all calls for by native nurses “with excessive precedence”. 
• 19 October: Rouhani says the federal government performs 25,000 Covid-19 exams a day and can quickly fund the price of a further 15,000 every day exams. He added that Iran may buy as much as 20 million testing kits if required, “however within the meantime, we’ll purchase as a lot as needed”.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Egypt

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 115,183
• Recoveries: 102,490
• Deaths: 6,621

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 18 November: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly warns of harsher wave of Covid-19 and calls on residents to adjust to precautionary measures. Face masks are necessary in public in Egypt, and violators will likely be fined £E4,000.
• 16 November: Alexandria governor, Mohamed el-Sherif, requires better compliance with precautionary measures, each individually and by companies, as authorities departments brace for second wave of Covid-19. 
• Three November: Cupboard spokesperson, Nader Saad, says the federal government is making ready to take robust motion in opposition to people and firms flouting Covid-19 precautionary measures. This features a £E4,000 high-quality on these not sporting masks in designated areas, closing faculties for 28 days if a Covid-19 case is detected and rising the quantity of flu vaccine accessible for the general public from 500,000 photographs to 2.5 million.
• 2 November: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly calls on residents to adjust to precautionary measures and warns of “tough steps much like these utilized earlier than”, akin to lockdowns, if Covid-19 laws proceed to be flouted. 
• 1 November: Well being ministry launches precautions that faculties should observe to curb the unfold of Covid-19. “In case an infection charges rise, the choice to shift to on-line schooling for the semester will likely be taken,” Schooling Directorate director, Mohammed Attia, mentioned.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 27 November: Disaster cell shaped to observe up on hospitals’ efforts and necessities forward of a possible second wave of Covid-19. 
• 26 November: Ministry of Well being and Inhabitants plans to domestically manufacture Covid-19 vaccine. “We plan to cooperate with the World Well being Organisation and the Sinovac Manufacturing Firm as quickly as the ultimate outcomes of the Chinese language vaccine seem,” the ministry mentioned in accordance with a press release cited by native media.
• 16 November: Increased committee for Covid-19‘s administration has agreed to open 320 hospitals as an infection numbers develop, advisor to the president for well being and prevention affairs, Mohamed Awad Tajuddin, reportedly mentioned. The hospitals will likely be prioritised to cut back the overcrowding of sufferers in native clinics treating chest points and fevers. Individually, native pharmaceutical firm Pharco Company’s CEO, Sherine Helmy, says the corporate is “engaged on discovering multiple various for [Covid-19] vaccines in Egypt […] so we will negotiate the price later”. Helmy mentioned Pharco plans to localise the manufacturing of the Covid-19 vaccine and export it to Africa, including agreements are in place with Burundi, Mali, Tanzania and Nigeria to ascertain pharmaceutical vegetation. The agreements entail three phases: transit for 1.5 years, packaging for one more 1.5 years, and full manufacture, native media reported.
• 10 November: Well being & Inhabitants Ministry says it has reserved Pfizer‘s Covid-19 vaccine to satisfy 20 per cent of its wants. 
• 2 November: South Korean authorities’s official improvement help fund gives $200,000 to enhance amenities at El-Salhya El-Gedida Central Hospital in Al-Sharqiah governorate. Seoul supplied $200,000 in cash to fund emergency well being response actions in Egypt in May, and adopted it with $500,000-worth of medical provides akin to check kits and face masks in August. Individually, Well being & Inhabitants Minister Hala Zayed says Cairo’s Vacsera has ready a manufacturing line for a Chinese language Covid-19 vaccine after it’s authorized. Egypt and China are collaborating on three vaccines beneath improvement. 

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Iraq

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 548,821
• Recoveries: 478,537
• Deaths: 12,200

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 20 November: Well being Ministry calls on residents to abide by protecting measures in opposition to Covid-19, akin to sporting masks and sustaining social distancing, including: “The well being groups seen that there’s a nice negligence by residents of health-protective measures akin to not sporting masks and holding weddings and condolences with dense gatherings.”
• 25 September: Flights to Iran will likely be suspended for 15 days over coronavirus considerations. The choice contains “all direct flights from native airports to the airports of the Islamic Republic of Iran, after the announcement of detecting coronavirus instances in some Iranian areas”, authorities mentioned.
• 5 September: Well being Ministry warns it may “lose management” of the pandemic if folks don’t adjust to precautionary measures. 

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 11 November: Cupboard says public sector salaries will likely be paid after the parliament approves the draft fiscal deficit legislation this week. 
• eight November: Increased Committee for Well being & Nationwide Security, beneath the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, agrees to start out new tutorial 12 months from 29 November, and authorises the fee required for buying the primary batch of the coronavirus vaccine from the International Alliance for Vaccines & Immunisation (Gavi).

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Jordan

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 210,709
• Recoveries: 142,710
• Deaths: 2,626

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 23 November: Minister of State for Media Affairs and the federal government spokesperson, Ali al-Ayed, says the federal government is intensifying efforts to observe companies’ and residents’ compliance with precautionary measures. A choice a few whole lockdown has not been confirmed, and work is predicted to proceed according to present preparations till end-2020. Individually, Well being Minister Nazir Obeidat says Jordan’s residents and residents will likely be supplied a Covid-19 vaccine free of charge. He mentioned vaccinating 20 per cent of residents would “shield” society and that the vaccine wouldn’t be necessary, including: “There may be an built-in nationwide plan to vaccinate teams [that need it most and to] be sure that no dose is misplaced.”
• 22 November: Embassy of Palestine pronounces closure and momentary halt on processing transactions till additional discover, after a lot of employees in its varied departments caught the brand new coronavirus.
• 18 November: Trade, Commerce & Provide Minister Maha al-Ali says inspection groups comprising members of 13 authorities departments and the Public Safety Directorate (PSD) have been shaped to observe institutional compliance with guidelines about face masks and social distancing. Transport Minister Marwan Khaitan known as for tightening penalties on violators of precautionary measures, in addition to rising inspections on public transport, alongisde the PSD.
• 16 November: Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh mandates closure of leisure and sports activities amenities as a part of measures to curb the unfold of coronavirus. Round No. 15 orders closures from 17 November and stipulates a ban on serving hookah, with fines of JD500-1,000 set for violating any restrictions. 
• 14 November: Appearing Inside Minister Bassam Talhouni says holding gatherings or celebrating occasions in all their kinds is not going to be allowed in exploitation of the tip of the four-day blanket lockdown and return to the partial curfew. The performing inside minister made his remarks following the issuance of Defence Order No. 22, which will increase penalties for holding, organising, attending or taking part in gatherings to a jail sentence of as much as three years or a high-quality of as much as JD3,000. Individually, director of Ma’an Well being Affairs, Amjad Abu Darwish, says work is beneath approach to construct a discipline hospital within the southern governorate to deal with coronavirus sufferers. Building has begun on a plot of land close to Ma’an Governmental Hospital, with a capability of 250 beds, together with 50 beds which might be designated for the CU. The Well being Ministry will present all providers and medical tools to the brand new facility.
• 11 November: Inside Minister Taqfiq Halalmeh instructs administrative and native governors to activate Defence Order No. 20, which bans gatherings and requires “the usage of preventive measures and tools for public security”, state information company Petra reported. Halalmeh mentioned the hardest authorized and administrative measures will likely be taken in opposition to those that flout the defence order, including that people who held election rallies on 10 November and engaged in festive firing will likely be tracked down and apprehended.
• 1 November: Obeidat says the ministry is planning to ascertain three discipline hospitals for Covid-19 sufferers within the northern, central and southern elements of the nation. “The ministry is within the remaining phases of signing a contract with a non-public hospital in Amman, and can present about 200 common beds and about 40 others for intensive care.” Individually, the federal government will prolong curfew hours as of two November, as a part of which companies will likely be allowed to function till 9pm and public motion will likely be permitted from 6am to 10pm, Khasawneh mentioned. Health centres and public swimming swimming pools, together with these in accommodations, residential and vacationer complexes, in addition to leisure and leisure cities and youngsters’s indoor play areas, are additionally closed till additional discover.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 28 November: Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) says tourism is among the many most ‘battered’ sectors amid Covid-19, and calls for the cancellation or deferral or rescheduling property tax dues in addition to the issuance of a brand new protection order to settle the “controversy” between landlords and tenants over the fee of rents throughout lockdown intervals. The chamber demanded a further one-year grace interval for debtors and the deferral of funds on loans secured by vacationer institutions, and delaying the fee of earnings and gross sales tax balances for 2020 and former years and schedule the dues to allow them to be paid by mid-2022. 
• 26 November: Agricultural Credit score Company to postpone loan installments for farmers and their sponsors for a three-month interval. About 30,000 farmers and debtors will profit from this choice at an anticipated whole value of JD10m. The company beforehand deferred the loan installments of farmers and their sponsors for a five-month interval, ranging from April to September.
• 24 November: Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh says the federal government will reintroduce wage hikes for public sector workers from 1 January 2021. He added that his authorities is engaged on a package deal that will likely be introduced subsequent week with the goal of increasing social safety for people affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Individually, King Abdullah inaugurates 300-bed hospital, constructed at a price of JD9m, for Covid-19 sufferers in Zarqa.
• 23 November: Khasawneh inaugurates the 70-bed Al-Bashir intensive care centre, designated for coronavirus sufferers in Amman. Submit-pandemic, the centre is predicted to “assist discover options to overcrowding in Ministry of Well being hospitals”, significantly within the Al-Bashir space. 
• 22 November: Khasawneh instructs Jordan Meals & Drug Administration to develop procedures and measures to cut back the costs of medicines and outline a transparent mechanism for meals inspection and management, in an effort to keep away from any battle in work between supervisory and inspection entities. Individually, Central Bank of Jordan extends its March 2020 choice to defer installments due from companies and people till June 2021. The moratorium extension comes with the goal of assuaging the virus-related impacts and granting pandemic-hit companies and people adequate time to pay again their installments to banks. The central bank mentioned lenders should defer installments on the pandemic-hit corporations, supplied they don’t cost deferred curiosity on these companies.
• 19 November: Labour and State for Funding Affairs Minister Ma’an Qatamin decides to increase the expatriation interval granted to stranded Egyptian employees to Jordan by eight days. The choice covers Egyptian expats who had been on depart earlier than 10 March, and whose work permits have expired.
• 17 November: King Abdullah directs the federal government to make the Nationwide Centre for Safety & Disaster Administration the primary level of reference for dealing with the Covid-19 disaster.
• 16 November: Defence Order No. 23 for 2020 issued by Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, permitting well being minister to take cost of any hospital for Covid-19 remedy and authorising the Well being Ministry to repair a price for Covid-19 remedy in non-public hospitals. The federal government plans to deal with Jordanian sufferers with Covid-19 free of charge in non-public hospitals if their switch was authorized by the Well being Ministry. The ministry is working with the Civil Service Bureau to obtain 2,000 extra well being professionals to handle the virus and develop its capability post-pandemic, Well being Minister Obeidat says. 
• 15 November: Jordan Society of Tourism & Journey Brokers (JSTA) says a number of tourism and journey companies have knowledgeable the organisation of plans to close their doorways and lay off workers previous to the tip of 2020. The deliberate closures are triggered by income losses and a slowdown in world tourism resulting from Covid-19, JSTA mentioned, in accordance with state information company Petra. JSTA mentioned 60 journey companies have closed their doorways to this point within the nation.
• eight November: Obeidat says the switch of Covid-19 sufferers from authorities hospitals to rented non-public hospitals will start on the finish of the week, noting that the non-public sector will present the medical sector with about 1,050 beds and 180 intensive care beds. The federal government has signed a contract with a non-public firm specialised in constructing discipline hospitals, beneath the supervision of the Audit Bureau and the Integrity & Anti-Corruption Fee, to develop three discipline hospitals within the nation’s north, central and south areas.
• 6 November: Royal Jordanian Airlines pronounces that the cancellation of scheduled flights because of the lockdown that was imposed since March has resulted in ticket refunds of about JD35.4m. The corporate has entered into discussions with plane lessors and lenders to reschedule its leases and loan funds due throughout the lockdown interval.
• 5 November: Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) says it has allowed the beneficiaries of the JD500m Finance Facilitation Programme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to postpone their loan funds to the tip of 2021. The CBJ mentioned the programme’s implementation controls have been altered by the Jordan loan Assure Company to permit banks to increase the grace interval given to SME prospects till the tip of 2021. The Finance Facilitation Programme will assist SMEs acquire inexpensive funding to deal with the unfavourable results of Covid-19 and stem potential job losses, the CBJ mentioned.
• Three November: Well being Ministry inks settlement with the Non-public Hospitals Affiliation to allocate no less than 1,000 beds and 150 ICU beds for Covid-19 sufferers who will likely be referred to personal hospitals by public hospitals, if wanted. Costs have been capped to cut back the burden on the ministry.
• 2 November: Civil Service Bureau says it has appointed 200 docs, 500 nurses and 25 lab technicians to the Well being Ministry, and one other 100 docs will bear procedures to take jobs in public hospitals, all as a part of efforts to counter the coronavirus pandemic. Among the many appointees had been 100 docs, 330 nurses and 25 lab technicians in Amman, and the remainder stuffed vacancies in Balqa, Zarqa and the central area. The extra 100 docs will be a part of public hospitals within the northern Irbid governorate and within the south of Jordan.
• 1 November: The EU has dedicated $50m to help the World Well being Organisation’s (WHO) efforts to strengthen main healthcare providers beneath the Jordan Well being Programme for Syrian Refugees & Weak Jordanians. The WHO mentioned that the funds will help the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic whereas increasing entry to providers to susceptible Jordanians and Syrian refugees.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Lebanon

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 125,678
• Recoveries: 74,950
• Deaths: 991

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 23 November: Caretaker Public Well being Minister Hamad Hassan says Lebanon will obtain the Pfizer vaccine “if authorized in its remaining kind by no later than mid-February”, including Beirut had held early negotiations with the American drug-maker, permitting Lebanon to be “one of many first nations to obtain the vaccine at a aggressive price”. Pfizer‘s vaccine will cowl 15 per cent of the Lebanese inhabitants, whereas Covax’s provide will cowl one other 20 per cent. The well being ministry is “in search of to contact Moderna, particularly since its founders are of Lebanese origin”, Hassan mentioned in accordance with state information company NNA, including: “But, contact was extra [rapidly established] with Pfizer, as it’s an American firm and has been within the Lebanese market for a few years.”
• 10 November: Supreme Defence Council plans full closure on 14-30 November to curb the unfold of Covid-19. Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab mentioned: “The closure choice is tough, but when we don’t resort to closure the fact will likely be harder, and what’s required of all of the army and safety providers is to be alert in all areas to strictly implement it, as there shouldn’t be areas that don’t adjust to the process.”
• 7 November: Diab says an in depth research has been requested from Hassan to determine whether or not the nation should re-enter a whole lockdown. 
• 1 November: Hassan cautions in opposition to flouting important precautionary measures, including: “As we speak, we’re at a really harmful juncture and we now have approached the catastrophic scene. Responsibly, the losses might be decreased and the epidemic deterioration going down might be averted.”
• 11 October: Inside Ministry shuts bars and nightclubs till additional discover and enforces native lockdowns on 169 villages and districts throughout the nation, up from 111 earlier within the month. The ministry additionally underscored the significance of complying with the 1am-6am curfew and the usage of masks.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 18 November: Caretaker Public Well being Minister Hamad Hassan indicators settlement with the Syndicate of Non-public Hospitals, represented by its president Sleiman Haroun, to lift tariffs agreed upon in October for PPE and ventilators for the remedy of Covid-19 sufferers, supplied non-public hospitals obtain and deal with all people contaminated with the brand new coronavirus. Hassan mentioned the settlement marked the ministry’s affirmation of calls for made by non-public hospitals, including: “There is no such thing as a excuse anymore for these hospitals’ reluctance to obtain [Covid-19] sufferers.” Individually, a sit-in is alleged to have been organised by protestors exterior the Inside Ministry in Beirut to protest deteriorating financial situations amid the overall lockdown in place till the tip of November. President of the Beirut Merchants Affiliation, Nicolas Chammas, informed Arab Information: “Starvation can spur riots that result in harmful penalties. We’re absolutely conscious of the selections taken to guard the general public’s well being, however there’s additionally starvation [to consider]. A few of these affected [by the closures] are calling for civil disobedience or the violation of the closure choice.” 
• 16 November: Hassan says the well being ministry, throughout a gathering with the World Bank, mentioned the latter’s loan and methods of streamlining “bureaucratic procedures that stop the acquisition of apparatus for presidency hospitals”. Hassan additionally met with the top of the Hospitals Syndicate in Lebanon, and warranted the ministry’s readiness to switch funds of private and non-private hospitals, worth about £Leb235bn, to the Finance Ministry. He added: “Now we have additionally accomplished the procedures for the fee of reconciliation contracts, which amounted to £Leb263bn.” A cargo of 5,500 Remdesivir tablets has arrived in Lebanon, at an official price of £Leb760,000. Half of those will likely be distributed to hospitals, with the remainder to be stored with brokers for direct gross sales, “in order to keep away from the drug being offered within the black market, as has occurred earlier than”. 
• 14 November: Hassan says Lebanon has signed two agreements for Covid-19 vaccines. The primary is with the Covax world vaccination platform to order a amount for 20 per cent of probably the most susceptible Lebanese residents, and the second with Pfizer to safe extra vaccines for 15 per cent of residents, noting that the switch of the quantity wanted to cowl these orders lies with the Lebanese central bank, Banque du Liban. The second settlement has been signed with the Covax facility, and along with the Pfizer vaccine, round 2 million doses of the vaccine may be accessible. Hassan added: “A technical committee has been shaped to manage the vaccine, as eight storage centres will likely be authorized within the governorates, supplied that the Public Well being Ministry will outline in all transparency and equity the teams that must be vaccinated.” He mentioned he expects the Pfizer vaccine to be accessible throughout February 2021.
• 11 November: Qatar’s Emiri Air Power sends two discipline hospitals for Tyre and Tripoli to Rafic Hariri Worldwide airport. The amenities will help Al-Roum and Jeitaoui hospitals. Caretaker well being minister Hassan, in the meantime, denied that Lebanon just isn’t spending $50m-worth of funding accessible for Covid-19 prevention measures, including: “This matter is inaccurate. We’re spending the loan cash in the proper time and place, and inside an organised plan.”

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Morocco

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 349,688
• Recoveries: 298,574
• Deaths: 5,739

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 24 November: Covid-19 prevention measures tightened in Chtouka-Ait Baha province. The choice contains closures of cafés, eating places and outlets at 10pm, in addition to banning wedding ceremony events, funeral ceremonies and gatherings.
• 23 November: Well being Minister Khalid Ait Taleb says Rabat has established a nationwide vaccination technique for the nation, as a part of which well being professionals, lecturers, the aged and people struggling continual diseases will likely be prioritised to obtain the Covid-19 vaccine. The operation will span 12 weeks, and central commissions have been created to observe up on the implementation plans. Individually, public authorities in Taroudant announce tightening of measures to curb the unfold, with trave prohibited and public areas closed from 8pm for a 15-day interval. 
• 21 November: Authorities decides to increase for 4 weeks the preventive measures in pressure in Higher Casablanca, together with the prefectures of Casablanca and Mohammedia and the provinces of Nouaceur and Mediouna, in addition to the Berrechid and Benslimane provinces from 9pm on 22 November. 
• 17 November: Outcomes of medical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine involving 600 Moroccan volunteers have been “very optimistic”, says Well being Minister Khalid Ait Taleb. He added: “It demonstrated its effectivity in phases 1 and a couple of.”
• 10 November: Nationwide flag provider Royal Air Maroc says that passengers arriving to Morocco must current a unfavourable PCR check consequence taken lower than 72 hours beforehand whereas checking in for his or her flight. 
• 9 November: King Mohammed VI pronounces nationwide vaccination plan in opposition to Covid-19 within the coming weeks. The king mentioned the choice was primarily based on recommendation from the Nationwide Scientific Committee. The vaccination marketing campaign will first goal frontline employees from the well being sector and safety forces, in addition to the aged. A press launch carried by state information company MAP mentioned the vaccine’s security, efficacy and immunogenicity have been confirmed via accomplished and ongoing research, however it didn’t specify which vaccine could be used. The official assertion mentioned that the North African nation was capable of acquire “a sophisticated rank within the provide of the vaccine”, which it didn’t establish, resulting from medical trials it was capable of take part in “due to the king’s private involvement”.
• 5 November: The federal government council decides to increase the state of well being emergency throughout the nationwide territory from 10 November to 10 December as a part of efforts to curb the unfold of the pandemic. 
• Three November: A whole lockdown may be imposed if the well being scenario turns into uncontrollable, head of presidency, Saad Dine el-Otmani, says, including: “None of us, officers or residents, desire a return to whole lockdown, in view of its social, financial and psychological repercussions, however it stays a attainable choice if the epidemiological scenario turns into uncontrollable.”

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 17 November: Well being Minister Khalid Ait Taleb says the framework settlement signed to take part within the vaccine trials paves the way in which for the switch of experience to Morocco, including the vaccine will likely be produced in Morocco within the close to future.
• 11 November: Director of the biotechnology laboratory on the School of Drugs & Pharmacy in Rabat, Azeddine Ibrahimi, says Morocco will obtain about 10 million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine. Frontline employees will likely be prioritised to obtain the vaccine, which whereas be administered in two doses.
• Four November: African Improvement Bank approves $138.5m (MD1.2bn) grant to help Morocco’s response to Covid-19. The funding constitutes an extension of the Social Safety Enchancment Assist Programme authorized on the finish of 2019 with a value of about $214.8m. The help programme will permit the acquisition of 666 extra resuscitation beds, in an effort to attain a complete capability of 1,350 outfitted beds. It should additionally present Morocco with adequate screening exams and supply pharmaceutical merchandise and units, with emergency technical platforms to be upgraded for 78 hospitals.
• 20 October: Well being Ministry is allotted nearly MD20bn within the appropriation invoice for the 12 months 2021, to fund Rabat’s Covid-19 response. The solidarity contribution fund, in the meantime, will likely be restricted to corporations with internet income exceeding MD5m, Economic system, Finance & Administration Reform Minister Mohamed Benchaaboun says. 

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Libya

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 81,273  
• Recoveries: 52,299
• Deaths: 1,153

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19: 

• 14 October: General supervisor of Benina airport in Benghazi, Abdalla al-Shafee, denies studies that the ability will start flights to Tripoli on 16 October. He reportedly added that 17 situations must be resolved earlier than the airport can reopen, together with the appointment of a specialised disinfection firm; repairs to safety machines; overdue workers funds; and the necessity for buses, forklifts and gasoline. Airlines are additionally unwilling to fly at half-capacity, as required by the Libyan Anti-Coronavirus Committee, Libya Herald reported.
• 7 September: Head of the Nationwide Centre for Illness Management, Bader al-Din al-Najjar, says well being centres are beneath excessive stress in Tripoli, calling for residents to adjust to precautionary measures and assist curb the virus. 

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 16 November: Libyan Audit Bureau approves a contract by the Libyan Well being Ministry to buy Covid-19 vaccines worth $9.1m, state information company Lana studies. Individually, Tripoli-Tunis flights resume after nearly eight months of pandemic-induced closures. Libyan Airlines will function three flights per week to Tunis Carthage airport. Land borders with Tunisia additionally reopened on 14 November. Tunisians residing close to each nations’ shared land border had been anticipated to halt demonstrations and blockades in opposition to the restrictions amid passenger and cargo income losses. 
• 23 October: State-held Nationwide Oil Company (NOC) pronounces lifting of pressure majeure at Sidra and Ras Lanuf ports, including directions have been given to provoke manufacturing preparations.
• 11 October: NOC lifts pressure majeure on the Sharara oilfield, which can pump as a lot as 300,000 barrels a day.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Tunisia

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 94,980
• Recoveries: 69,226
• Deaths: 3,153

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 25 November: Well being Minister Faouzi Mehdi warns of second wave in late-December if compliance with precautionary measures stays low. He added that recklessness or the relief of precautions may result in a peak in January 2021, including instances in Tunisia now account for greater than 12 per cent of its whole inhabitants. 
• 10 November: Travellers to Tunisia should current a unfavourable PCR check consequence obtained lower than 72 hours earlier than boarding. New measures deliberate to curb the unfold of the virus additionally embody conducting random speedy screening exams on passengers and mandatorily taking the optimistic instances to quarantine centres at their very own expense. Ranging from 16 November, new arrivals in Tunisia can select between spending their necessary quarantine interval in a lodge or of their houses, following the approval of the native well being providers. The quarantine interval may finish if a PCR check carried out on their seventh day in Tunisia is unfavourable. Nonetheless, in case any signs seem throughout the isolation interval, the PCR check will likely be carried out by the native well being providers on the state’s expense. 
• Four November: Discipline hospital at Kram Exhibition Centre will shortly open for Covid-19 sufferers, Well being Minister Faouzi Mehdi says. It has 100 ICU and 400 oxygen-fitted beds, and can start operations with 30 beds. One other hospital is beneath improvement in Sfax, and the 18 ICU- and 160 oxygen-bed hospital will open quickly. Mehdi says a decree will likely be issued to ascertain a telemedicine platform and supply distant affected person care.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 23 November: Monetary subsidies for the agriculture sector will improve by 17 per cent in 2021 in comparison with this 12 months, mentioned Minister of Agriculture, Water Sources and Fisheries, Akissa Bahri. Subsidies for the sector will whole TND324m in 2021, Bahri mentioned, including small farmers have been closely impacted by Covid-19 within the nation. 
• 21 November: Well being Ministry takes supply of protecting tools donated by the Tunisian Purple Crescent with help from the Worldwide Federation of Purple Cross & Purple Crescent Societies. The medical assist is worth greater than TD500,000 and consists of 6,000 single-use protecting fits, 7,000 plastic coronavirus fits, 3,000 sterilised gloves, 150,000 cleansing gloves, 13,000 head-coverings, 13,000 face masks for healthcare personnel and 600 litres of disinfectant options.
• 20 November: A donation settlement worth $1m (TD2.75m) was signed between the Tunisian Union of Social Solidarity and World Bank resident consultant in Tunis, Tony Verheijen. The settlement targets job creation, particularly for youth and girls, within the agriculture and agri-food, agri-pastoral and forestry sectors by rising the productiveness and resilience of small, rural producers. The primary tranche of $1m will likely be adopted by a second tranche of $3.7m (TD10m). The settlement is a part of the Tunisian Rural & Agricultural Chains of Employment Programme, via which the World Bank and the Netherlands are pooling their efforts to help job creation in rural areas.
• 18 November: Well being Minister Faouzi Mehdi says Tunis has established contact with international laboratories to arrange for the acquisition of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to WHO tips, including case numbers and deaths because of the pandemic have “levelled off comparatively since a package deal of preventive measures” was launched earlier this month. Individually, cultural actions have been allowed to partially resume from 23 November, beginning with artwork residences, galleries and libraries. Eating places will likely be allowed to remain open till 7pm as a substitute of 4pm from 23 November, however espresso outlets are excluded from this choice. 
• 16 November: Tax utilized to journey businesses as contribution to the Fund for the Improvement of Competitiveness within the tourism sector, set at TND2 on every seat supplied by vacationer transport conveyances, will likely be suspended for six months from January 2021, in accordance with a choice by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. The premier additionally authorized granting vacationer and handicraft institutions an extension of the deadline for submitting company tax returns for the years 2019 and 2020 till 31 December 2021, with a rescheduling of funds from January 2022.
• 13 November: The Division of Tourism has devised a method to make sure the sector’s revival, Mohamed Moez Belhassine, director-general of the Tunisian Nationwide Vacationer Workplace, says, including: “We have to overview and rethink the whole lot. The disaster has proven that tourism exercise suffers from main structural weaknesses, which we should treatment. We should additionally lay the foundations for a sustainable transformation of this sector. Our most pressing precedence in the present day is to strengthen the resilience of the tourism sector, by implementing the federal government measures taken in March, together with these regarding the facilitation of credit score to professionals, in order that they’ll overcome their monetary difficulties and thus preserve jobs. Concurrently, we now have designed a coaching programme for tourism workers, with minimal wages [established]. The target is to grab this break, attributable to the pandemic, to enhance and strengthen the talents of the workers and put together them for post-Covid-19 restoration.” Individually, air visitors with Libya to renew from 15 November.
• eight November: Two discipline hospitals will likely be arrange within the Errimel and Mami seaside areas in anticipation of a rise in Covid-19 instances, the native well being director in Bizerte, Jameleddine Saidani, mentioned. The Errimel hospital may have 50 beds. 
• Four November: Mechichi pronounces sequence of pressing measures to restrict the financial and social impression of Covid-19 on professionals within the cultural and creative sectors. He determined, specifically, to reschedule the money owed of artists, creators and cultural establishments, beneath contributions to the social safety system. The retirement allowance of pros, particularly artists, creators and intellectuals, may even improve to double the quantity often allotted to every member. As a way to meet the wants of those teams and varied employees within the sector, extra funds will likely be launched earlier than the tip of 2020, bringing the general value of the allocations to $2.1m (TD6m). The brand new measures additionally present for stress-free procedures in reference to the reimbursement of contributions for professionals within the sector.
• Three November: The Well being Ministry is contemplating the potential of in search of the assistance of among the estimated 3,000 Tunisian docs working overseas, Mehdi says. The ministry will overview the mechanisms to carry them to Tunisia as a part of medical missions, however precedence will likely be given to rising recruitment. The ministry has signed contracts with anaesthesia and intensive care graduates to extend its manpower. Individually, the UAE sends 11 metric tonnes of medical provides and ventilators to help 11,000 medical professionals in Tunisia. 
• 1 November: A fundraising marketing campaign for the acquisition of ventilators for use within the ICU and the Covid-19 unit on the native hospital of Tozeur, organised on the initiative of the coordination committee for the promotion of the well being sector in Djerid. The marketing campaign, which began per week in the past, has achieved solely 10 per cent of its targets regardless of the rising variety of folks testing optimistic, member of the coordinating committee, Salem Ben Salma, mentioned.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Algeria

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 81,212
• Recoveries: 52,568
• Deaths: 2,393

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 15 November: Extra measures launched, together with a partial lockdown from 8pm-5am in 32 provinces, for 15 days from 17 November. Used automotive markets throughout the nation will likely be closed throughout the interval, and sports activities arenas, leisure venues, seashores and cultural centres within the 32 provinces lined by the lockdown measures will likely be additionally closed for 15 days. Actions of shops and outlets specialising in family home equipment, ornamental objects, bedding and furnishing materials, sporting items, video games and toys, in addition to hairdressing salons for women and men, patisseries and confectioners, cafes, eating places and fast-food eating places, must be restricted to supply and takeaway, and are additionally topic to shut at 3pm.
• 10 November: Friday prayers on the Nice Mosque of Algiers suspended from 13 November. Prayers will resume on the mosque as soon as well being and security situations are met.
• 9 November: President of the Nationwide Company of Well being Safety, Kamel Sanhadji, urges compliance with precautionary measures, failing which instances have spiked in Algeria. Sanhadji mentioned Algeria just isn’t witnessing a second wave of Covid-19, which might scietifically require that the virus mutates or modifications its traits, which isn’t presently the case within the nation. 
• eight November: The beginning of the brand new tutorial and vocational coaching years has been postponed till 15 December, the Prime Minister’s Workplace mentioned. The postponement of the beginning of the tutorial 12 months, initially scheduled for 22 November, is a part of the system adopted by the general public authorities within the administration of the well being disaster. Partial lockdown hours even have been readapted from 8pm-5am in 29 provinces for 15 days, from 10 November. The modification marks a revision to present lockdown measures in 20 provinces and the introduction of curbs in 9 others, together with Adrar, Guelma, Illizi, Tindouf, Tissemsilt, El-Oued, Khenchela, Tipasa and Ain Temouchent. Nationally, utilizing city private and non-private transport can be prohibited at the weekends.
• 5 November: Authorities decides to instantly implement an emergency motion plan to comprise the unfold of Covid-19, throughout a gathering chaired by Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad. This motion plan will deal with tighter prevention measures, a extra environment friendly communication technique and the rigorous implementation of regulatory coercive measures. Algiers additionally plans to provide hospitals with tools, PCR and antigen exams, protecting tools, oxygen provide and extra beds to ramp up remedy capability.
• Four November: Djerad warns of “extreme” measures if Covid-19 instances improve as faculties reopen in Algeria, including that well being protocols established by ministries and native authorities have to be adhered to. 

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 21 November: Prime Minister Djerad says the closure of colleges is presently dominated out, asserting that contracts are beneath approach with international laboratories for the acquisition of the Covid-19 vaccine. He added: “Within the occasion that optimistic instances are recorded in faculties, every case will likely be handled individually. Nonetheless, the closure of colleges just isn’t presently on the agenda.”
• 18 November: The healthcare system’s capability to deal with Covid-19 will likely be elevated by 65 per cent, says assistant supervisor accountable for well being providers on the Well being Ministry, Lamia Yacef. The present capability of hospitals receiving sufferers with Covid-19 nationwide is 49.49 per cent for admissions and 38.66 per cent for ICUs.
• 25 October: Director normal of the Institut Pasteur d’Alger (IPA), Fawzi Derrar, says Algeria will obtain speedy antigen testing kits within the coming days, including Algiers plans to widen and standardise entry to the exams throughout the nation by March 2021, and improve the variety of non-public laboratories authorized to run PCR exams.
• 19 October: Vitality Ministry plans pressing measures to mitigate the monetary impression of Covid-19, together with the discount of funding budgets for nationwide oil and gasoline corporations, Sonatrach and Sonelgaz, respectively, with the goal of saving AD150bn. The ministry has additionally thought-about reorganising each companies in order that they deal with their core operations, modernising their administration techniques and optimising funding prices. The ministry additionally plans to cut back the working funds of each public enterprises by 17 per cent, or AD182bn. Sonatrach and Sonelgaz are estimated to have confronted losses of AD10bn and AD18.7bn between September 2019 and 2020 resulting from power market tendencies and Covid-19.

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Yemen

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 2,160
• Recoveries: 1,498
• Deaths: 615

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 4 May: Public areas together with authorities buildings, markets and mosques to be sprayed with disinfectant as native authorities transfer to curb Covid-19.
• 11 April: Authorities within the southeast Yemen province of Hadramout transfer to curb Covid-19 within the port metropolis of Al-Sheher by imposing additional measures, the place the nation’s first case was introduced on 10 April. A curfew from 6pm-6am has been imposed in all cities of the province. Hadramout governor, Faraj Salmen al-Bahsani, has urged residents to adjust to the measures and keep indoors as a lot as attainable.

Measures to minimise the financial disaster: 

• 11 November: Kuwait Reduction Society donates 15 ICUs to Yemen. The models will likely be distributed to eight quarantine centres in six governorates, and embody provides of oxygen, monitoring units, beds, safety supplies and respirators.
• 7 October: Unicef says main faculties have reopened following months of closures. Preventive sanitary measures have been carried out and college schedules have been rearranged to keep away from overcrowding.
• 2 June: Worldwide donors pledge $1.35bn in assist for Yemen. Saudi Arabia’s contribution totals $500m, with the UK providing $200m and Germany contributing $140m.
• 18 May: Yemen’s Well being Minister Nasser Ba’aom and Native Administration Minister Abdul Raqib Fatah enchantment for worldwide assist. “We want PPE provides, ventilators, finance for the medical employees who work within the Covid-19 centres,” Dr Ba’aom mentioned, in accordance with UAE newspaper the Nationwide. “We also need medical equipment such as a complete biological units, testing kits, field hospitals and beds for the ICUs. Additionally, we still need food aid, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene.”

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.

Syria

Covid-19 pandemic newest:

• Complete confirmed instances: 7,715
• Recoveries: 3,444
• Deaths: 409

Actions to sluggish the unfold of Covid-19:

• 21 October: Well being Ministry launches marketing campaign to distribute protecting clothes and run extra frequent Covid-19 testing for healthcare employees as a part of measures to curb the unfold of the virus. Influenza check kits may even be supplied and healthcare employees in direct contact with Covid-19 sufferers will likely be examined for antibodies.
• 16 August: Inside Ministry set to problem new laws for travellers to and from Lebanon. These coming into Syria from Lebanon should current Covid-19 unfavourable check outcomes taken 96 hours previous to their arrival. The choice applies to truck drivers, diplomatic passport holders and assist employees, amongst different teams. Lebanon-bound passengers from Syria should current check outcomes taken 24 hours previous to their flight. 

Monetary measures to minimise the financial disaster:

• 24 October: Syria receives medical help from the WHO. The cargo, which arrived at Damascus Worldwide airport, contains PPE for well being employees, medicines and medical provides.
• 21 October: President Bashar al-Assad points decree approving an exemption on earnings tax amid tightening financial situations. The decree covers all private and non-private sector employees. It exempts these incomes £Syr50,000 ($40) or much less a month from paying earnings tax and reduces the extent of taxes paid within the lowest earnings bracket. Exemptions had been beforehand supplied for these incomes lower than £Syr15,000, in accordance with a decree in 2015. Finance Minister Kinan Yaghi mentioned the authority had additionally secured assets to disburse grants to residents, and has known as on banks to not cost charges till these grants have been issued. 

As of 09.30 GST, 29 November 2020. Click on right here for Covid-19 updates in Mena throughout October 2020.