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Dubai, May 7: Indians in the UAE have voiced scepticism about a "massive" operation announced by New Delhi to bring home some of the hundreds of thousands of nationals stranded by coronavirus restrictions.

"It is just propaganda," said Ishan, an Indian expatriate in Dubai, one of seven emirates in the UAE and long a magnet for foreign workers.

He was reacting to his government's announcement this week that it would deploy passenger jets and naval ships to bring home citizens stuck in a host of countries.

India's consulate in Dubai said it received about 200,000 requests from nationals seeking repatriation -- mostly workers who have lost their jobs in the pandemic.

One vessel was heading to the UAE, India's government said, while two flights were scheduled to depart the UAE for India on Thursday.

But the plans drew scorn from Ishan, who was a manager at a luxury services company before he was made redundant last month.

"It's like throwing a dog a bone," the 35-year-old complained on Wednesday, dismissing the Indian government's efforts as a drop in the ocean.

"Let's say they repatriate 400 people on the first day, and about 5,000 people in 10 days, what difference has it made?"

India banned all incoming commercial flights in late March as it imposed one of the world's strictest lockdowns to tackle the spread of coronavirus.

The UAE is home to a 3.3-million-strong Indian community, who make up around 30 per cent of the Gulf state's population.

To the anger of some Indian expatriates, the evacuees will have to pay for their passage home and spend two weeks in quarantine on arrival.

"We are upset over the failure of our government," Ishan said. "What about the people with no money? How are you helping them?"

The Indian consulate could not be reached for comment.

Ibrahim Khalil, head of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Center in Dubai, said the consulate had asked him to select 100 Indian nationals for repatriation.

"We are planning to pay for the tickets of those who cannot afford it," he said, adding that the elderly, pregnant and those suffering from illnesses were a priority.

But one Indian woman, eight months pregnant in the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah, was not one of the lucky ones chosen to go back home in one of Thursday's planned departures.

"We called them but nobody would pick up," the 26-year-old, who requested anonymity, told AFP.

She arrived in the UAE a few months ago to visit her husband, who lives in a shared apartment with another family to save money.

"We have no insurance here and the medical expenses are too costly," said the woman, who was anxious to leave to give birth at home.

"I just hope that I am chosen to go back to India. I don't know why I haven't been considered."

Riyadh, Jul 5: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has approved the extension of the validity of the expired iqama (residency permit) and exit and reentry visas of expatriates who are outside the Kingdom for a period of three months without any fee.

The iqama of expatriates inside the Kingdom as well as the visa of visitors who are in the Kingdom of which the validity expires during the period of suspension of entry and exit from the Kingdom will also be extended for a period of three months without any charge.

The validity of final exit visas as well as exit and reentry visas issued for expatriates, who are in the Kingdom, but were not used during the lockdown period will be extended for a period of three months without any fee, the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting an official source at the Ministry of Interior.

The ministry source said that these measures were taken as part of the continuous efforts made by the government of King Salman to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on individuals as well as on private sector establishments and investors, economic activities in the Kingdom, following the adoption of the preventive measures to stem the spread of the pandemic.

The beneficiaries of the King’s order include all expatriates who are outside the Kingdom on exit and reentry visas, which expired during the lockdown period and after lifting of the lockdown.

These expatriates are not in a position to return to the Kingdom due to the enforcement of suspension of international flight service and temporary ban on entry and exit from the Kingdom.

The beneficiaries also include those expatriates who are still in the Kingdom after issuance of final exit visas or exit and reentry visas but could not travel because of the suspension of entry and exit from the Kingdom.

Doha, May 2: Twenty-three staff at a hospital in Qatar were injured when tents being used to boost capacity in response to coronavirus collapsed in a fierce storm, local media reported Friday.

Winds of up to 72 kilometres per hour (45 miles per hour) caused two temporary tent annexes at Hazm Mebaireek General Hospital in Qatar's Industrial Area to collapse on Thursday, the Gulf Times reported.

No patients were hurt and most injuries to staff at the facility, 20 kilometres south west of central Doha, were minor, the daily added, citing the health ministry.

During the gale-force winds on Thursday, a Qatar Airways Boeing 787 on the ground was blown into a nearby Airbus A350 at Doha's Hamad airport causing minor damage but no injuries, the airline said in a statement.

Ten@ten989

عاصفة رعدية ورياح قوية تهدم المستشفى الميداني في قطر وأضرار أخرى في منطقة

#انهيار_المستشفي_الميداني

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4:14 AM - May 1, 2020

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The Industrial Area is a gritty, densely-populated district that is home to mostly migrant labourers and has been the epicentre of Qatar's outbreak. 

Tens of thousands of residents were quarantined in the area after cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed among the community in mid-March.

Qatar -- home to hundreds of thousands of foreign labourers working on projects linked to the 2022 World Cup -- has reported 12 deaths and 14,096 cases of the Covid-19 respiratory disease.

The hospital's executive director Hussein Ishaq said the incident was being treated "very seriously" and that an investigation had been launched.

Hospital staff had "helped ensure that no patients were injured and were safely transferred to other hospitals", he said, quoted in the Gulf Times.