MENA | Coronavirus tracker for the GCC – June update

Bahrain locked down again on 27th May after a surge in new Covid-19 cases, despite having one of the world’s highest vaccination rates and the lockdown has been extended until 2nd July at least. Work permits have been suspended for red list countries and mandatory quarantine has been reimposed for unvaccinated travellers. Oman also locked down again on 19th June due to a surge in infections and hospitals running out of capacity, with a night-time curfew (8pm-4am) in place until further notice.

What you will learn:

• Elsewhere in the region, lockdown restrictions have continued to ease. Kuwait has announced plans to allow vaccinated foreigners in from 1st August, subject to a 7-day quarantine period and other testing requirements.
• Vaccinated citizens and residents will also be able to gain entry to large shopping malls, gyms, restaurants etc from 27th June. A similar regime has been implemented in Abu Dhabi.
• Qatar has moved to the second phase of re-opening, with more venues allowed to re-open and with higher capacity, including workplaces.