Riyadh, Mar 25: A 46-year-old man died of coronavirus in Saudi Arabia, becoming the Kingdom’s second death, according to a health ministry’s spokesman.
The health ministry recorded 133 new infections, bringing the total to 900.
Of those newly confirmed cases, 18 are associated with recent travel, and were placed in quarantine upon their arrival in the Kingdom, the spokesman said.
Mar 30: the UAE Cabinet approved a series of new initiatives, foremost among which was the automatic extension of residence permits expiring from March 1.
The residence visas would be extended for a renewable period of three months without any fees to ease the economic impact of the Covid-19 crisis on residents, official news agency WAM reported.
The Cabinet has also waived the administrative fines associated with infractions on the services provided by the Federal Authority of Identity and Citizenship, starting April 1 and lasting for a renewable period of three months.
The initiatives also entail granting a temporary license to use digital solutions for remotely notarising and completing judicial transactions.
Government services expiring from March 1 will also be extended from April 1 for a renewable period of three months. The decision applies to all federal government services, including documents, permits, licenses and commercial registers.
The UAE has introduced a slew of initiatives to control the spread of the Covid-19 virus, including the online renewal of driving licences and vehicle’s registration cards.
The country’s telecom regulator, Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), also issued a directive that no mobile service with expired ID documents will be disconnected or suspended in the UAE.
The UAE has reported a total of 611 Covid-19 infections and five related deaths in the country.
A national sterilisation programme is underway that will continue until Saturday April 4, concluding on the morning of Sunday, April 5.
Carried out daily from 8pm until 6am the following morning, the programme will include the disinfection of private and public facilities.
Dubai, Apr 2: A senior Saudi official urged more than 1 million Muslims intending to perform the hajj to delay making plans this year in comments suggesting the pilgrimage could be cancelled due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
In February, the kingdom took the extraordinary decision to close off the holy cities of Mecca and Medina to foreigners over the virus, a step which wasn’t taken even during the 1918 flu epidemic that killed tens of millions worldwide.
Restrictions have tightened in the kingdom as it grapples with over 1,500 confirmed cases of the new virus. The kingdom has reported 10 deaths so far. The Middle East has more than 71,000 confirmed cases of the virus, most of those in Iran, and over 3,300 deaths.
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is prepared to secure the safety of all Muslims and nationals,” Saudi Hajj and Umrah Minister Muhammad Saleh bin Taher Banten told state television. “That’s why we have requested from all Muslims around the world to hold onto signing any agreements (with tour operators) until we have a clear vision.”
Saudi Arabia has barred people from entering or exiting three major cities, including Mecca and Medina, and imposed a nighttime curfew across the country. Like other countries around the world and in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia has suspended all inbound and outbound commercial flights.
Each year, up to 2 million Muslims perform the hajj, a physically demanding and often costly pilgrimage that draws the faithful from around the world. The hajj, required of all able-bodied Muslims to perform once in their lifetime, is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and bring about greater humility and unity among Muslims.
Standing in Mecca in front of the cube-shaped Kaaba that Muslims pray toward five times daily, Banten also said the kingdom was already providing care for 1,200 pilgrims stuck in the holy city due to global travel restrictions. A number of them are being quarantined in hotels in Mecca, he said.
Dubai, Jul 14: The UAE-based parents of children under 12 stranded in India are in a tight spot with multiple airlines refusing to accept unaccompanied minors.
Starting July 12, Indians wanting to return to the UAE have been given a 15-day window to travel back on the condition that they have valid residency permits. They also have to produce a negative Covid-19 test result.
But parents of minors said they are feeling helpless as children are unable to avail of the travel opportunity despite having return permits.
"It has been more than three months since my daughter has been stuck in India. We have GDRFA approval for her but the airlines are not accepting her booking, saying she is under 12," Poonam Sapre, a Dubai-based mother, told Khaleej Times.
Her daughter Eva Sapre, 10, is in Hyderabad and is awaiting a reunion with her parents.
"She is just 10 and it has already taken an emotional toll on her. She is eager to come back and is asking me every day about her return. This is so frustrating."
Barring Emirates and Etihad, other airlines including flydubai, Air Arabia and Air India Express are not accepting unaccompanied minors. With India extending the travel freeze till July 31, normal flights are yet to resume and only special flights are allowed between India and UAE under a bilateral agreement.
Sapre said only flydubai is flying the Hyderabad-Dubai route, and the carrier has restrictions on minors travelling alone. "My daughter is too young to fly through indirect routes," claims the mother.
When Khaleej Times reached out to the airlines for comment, they confirmed that such rules on unaccompanied minors were already in place even before Covid-19 travel restrictions came into effect.
Another Dubai-based distressed parent, who did not want to be named, said her eight-year-old son is in Kerala and is unable to fly due to airline policies on unaccompanied minors.
"I called up Air India Express and they said this has been their rule even before the Covid-19 outbreak. I am appealing to them to re-consider and make an exception during these trying times so that our children can come home safely," she said.
Faced with this eventuality, some parents are forced to fly out of the UAE so they can accompany their children on the flight back home.
An Indian mother, who is currently in Mumbai, said she flew out of Dubai on Monday morning solely for the purpose of bringing back her twin daughters, aged 10.
"I had no choice. Ideally, they could have travelled together, but under these circumstances I thought it best to get them with me personally," said the mother.
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