COVID-19: Qatar shuts cinemas, beauty salons, barber shops as infections rise

Cairo: Qatar has announced new restrictions including the closure of cinemas and curtailing workers’ attendance and public transport capacity to curb a spike in coronavirus infection cases in the country.

The government said that mosques will remain open for the daily and weekly group prayers, but the voluntary tarawih prayer associated with the holy month of Ramadan will be performed at home. Children under 12 years will not be allowed into mosques as part of the health precautions.

Other restrictions include reducing the presence of workers at government and private institutions by 50 per cent, shutting down cinemas, theatres, barber shops, beauty salons, museums and public libraries. Gatherings will be banned at gardens and beaches. A government statement said that social visits and gatherings will be prohibited at indoor places in houses.

Service suspended

Boat and yacht services will be suspended as capacity of public transport will be reduced to reach 20 per cent of their normal capacity with a weekly halt of the service on Fridays and Saturdays.

The government said the new restrictions will take effect starting from Friday (tomorrow) until further notice.

Qatar Wednesday reported 940 new coronavirus cases and eight deaths, raising the country’s overall infections to 186,201 cases and fatalities to 320.