Qatar and Singapore continue to work together in terms of the response to the Covid-19 outbreak, Singaporean ambassador Jai Sohan has said.
“Singapore’s Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong and Qatar’s Minister of Public Health HE Dr Hanan Mohamed al-Kuwari have had discussions on our countries’ response to, and management of, the pandemic,” the envoy told Gulf Times.
He said Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Qatar Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani had a telephonic conversation June 25, and discussed co-operation on the Covid-19 front, both in the bilateral context and at the multilateral level.
Given the magnitude of the challenge, Sohan underscored the importance of sharing information, resources, strategies and experience for like-minded countries “to overcome the pandemic and restore normalcy to our economies and the lives of our people”.
He lauded Qatar for doing an excellent job in dealing with the current situation, acting decisively on many fronts as it moved quickly in mid-March to close the country’s borders to restrict imported cases of Covid-19.
When local infections later started to rise, the envoy said Qatar imposed precautionary measures such as wearing of face masks, safe distancing rules and use of the Ehteraz contact tracing application to track local transmissions. 
“Though there was a rise in infections among expatriate workers, Qatari government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs worked together to isolate, treat and care for all affected workers,” he said.
Sohan noted that Qatar has also undertaken an aggressive testing regime, testing more than 381,000 people to date.
“This, coupled with Qatar’s excellent medical and diagnostic facilities, has meant that almost all infected individuals have been isolated and treated, and mortality figures from the virus have remained low,” the envoy said. “The authorities have also been communicating frequently with the public, keeping them apprised of the government’s various measures and policies.”
Covid-19 has had a dramatic and significant impact on Singapore – disrupting international trade flows and the movement of travellers. The country had to close its borders and impose lockdown measures to contain the spread of the virus among its population, according to Sohan.
He said the Singapore government imposed a “circuit breaker” on April 7 aimed at curbing rising infections and reduce person-to-person transmission of the virus by implementing several restrictions.
“With the circuit breaker measures successful in bringing down the number of new infections, the Singapore government commenced a gradual three-phased easing of some of the lockdown measures. We commenced Phase 1 on June 2 and then moved into Phase 2 on June 19, which saw more businesses, including retail outlets, gyms and fitness centres, being allowed to open, as well as a resumption of dine-ins at restaurants,” Sohan said.
“Our students will be allowed to return to schools and institutions of higher learning for face-to-face classes. Sports and recreational facilities have been allowed to open. We have now permitted small social gatherings and family visits of up to five persons,” he added.
Many of Singapore’s major tourist attractions – zoos and wildlife parks, integrated resorts and museums - will also be reopening with necessary precautionary and safe distancing measures in place, the envoy said.
He noted that commencement of Phase 3 – which will see the resumption of larger-scale social, cultural, religious and business events – will depend on how the Covid-19 situation in Singapore evolves.
Sohan also highlighted the warm bilateral relations between Qatar and Singapore since diplomatic relations were established in January 1984.
“Our leaders know each other well, and we had a healthy exchange of bilateral visits prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has unfortunately resulted in a cessation of most international travel. Our two countries also co-operate well at multilateral fora, given our shared interests and concerns as small states,” he said.
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