Doha, Qatar – The World Cup 2022 might be one of many first main sporting occasions for the reason that begin of the COVID-19 pandemic that won’t have limitations on crowd numbers, and all eight stadiums might be allowed to fill to their most capacities.
The event kicks off on November 20 in Qatar and is predicted to draw greater than 1.2 million folks to witness the most important sporting occasion on this planet.
In latest months, music festivals, political gatherings and enterprise occasions have taken place with little to no health-related limitations.
Qatari authorities dropped COVID-related journey restrictions beginning on Tuesday, together with necessary pre-arrival testing, so followers travelling from overseas will now not want to indicate a detrimental COVID-19 check earlier than boarding their flights to Qatar.
COVID-related hospitalisations and deaths are dropping, however as winter looms within the Northern Hemisphere and other people spend extra time indoors, well being consultants are warning of one other international coronavirus wave.
In October, the World Well being Group and the European Centre for Illness Prevention and Management mentioned Europe was getting into its third pandemic winter and COVID-19 and seasonal influenza have been “co-circulating”, rising dangers for susceptible communities, such because the aged and other people with disabilities.
In the USA, circumstances of the brand new Omicron subvariants BQ.1 and BQ1.1 have doubled in latest weeks and will result in a big surge of COVID-19 circumstances, in response to some scientists.
To this point, there have been greater than 629 million confirmed infections globally and nearly 6.6 million deaths.
World Cup pointers
Whereas asserting its new well being rules, Qatar’s authorities mentioned the contact-tracing app Ehteraz will now not be mandatory for getting into any buildings apart from well being amenities.
On October 19, the government also announced that masks will now not be required on public transport.
In a press release in regards to the rollback of well being controls, the well being ministry pointed to the nationwide vaccination programme and the persevering with drop of COVID-19 circumstances in Qatar and all over the world.
Instances within the Gulf nation of two.9 million folks have decreased 34 % from September 19 to October 17. To this point, the nation has recorded greater than 465,000 infections and over 680 deaths for the reason that pandemic started.
‘Pandemic not over’
A resident of Qatar advised Al Jazeera that she understood why restrictions have been being eliminated, however she mentioned it was nonetheless necessary to “maintain your guard up”.
“For greater than two years now, we have now had a security web of kinds,” mentioned the resident, who wished to stay nameless. “We had masks mandates, the must be vaccinated, boosted and what not.
“Now it’s going to principally be gone. It makes me very uneasy as a result of it’s not just like the pandemic is over.”
Laith Abu-Raddad, a professor of Infectious Illness Epidemiology at Cornell College in Doha, mentioned a lot of folks coming collectively on the World Cup can lead to extra infections.
“There might be a number of mass gatherings, the place folks might be shut to one another – contained in the stadium, queues outdoors, fan zones, events indoors the place pals will watch the video games collectively,” he advised Al Jazeera. “This is the reason it’s important for everybody to maintain no less than some measures of warning and keep away from crowding in shut proximity to different folks.”
Abu-Raddad mentioned it was “extraordinarily necessary” for these over 50 to get their booster pictures.
“That is actually the best factor anybody can do to guard themselves as a result of older folks and other people with co-morbidities are the individuals who have the very best danger,” he mentioned.
Numbers unlikely to achieve ‘critical ranges’
But Zein Abid, who works as a safety guard in Doha, mentioned he and his pals have “nearly forgotten” about COVID-19 and the way it had beforehand “taken over” their lives for 2 and a half years.
“It’s one thing we have now come to stay with,” Abid advised Al Jazeera. “I really feel Qatar has dealt with the pandemic higher than most nations … Demise charges have been low. I feel we might be nice.”
Abu-Raddad mentioned that whereas he expects an increase in infections in the course of the World Cup, the variety of extreme circumstances and hospitalisations have been unlikely to achieve “critical ranges”.
For one factor, he mentioned, there are excessive ranges of immunity worldwide. Greater than 69 % of individuals on the planet have obtained no less than one dose of a COVID vaccine whereas 64 % are absolutely vaccinated.
“Followers might be coming for just a few days,” Abu-Raddad added. “It’s not like they’re coming right here for a very long time the place they have been going to get contaminated, infect others and be hospitalised right here.”
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