Middle East Experience

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health Tawfiq al-Rabiah said on Monday that the spike in the numbers of daily reported coronavirus cases in the past three day is due to cases being detected by the expanded field testing programs that are taking place across the country.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page.Medical teams have been conducting mass coronavirus screenings in neighborhoods across the Kingdom since Friday to ensure that cases are detected early.“Instead of waiting for someone to tell us that they have been infected and having to isolate all those who had direct contact with them, we go to the neighborhoods that we feel might have a lot of cases. We go to homes, we go to residential complexes so we can discover the cases before they come to us,” al-Rabiah said.Saudi Arabia has reported 10,484 coronavirus cases and a total of 103 fatalities as of Monday.Al-Rabiah said on Monday that the number of infections is expected to keep rising in the upcoming days as health workers continue to conduct screenings, the minister added.The minister had earlier this month said the number of cases in the Kingdom could reach between 10,000 and 20,000 within weeks, based on four different studies.Read more:Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia daily cases more than double since field testingWatch: Saudi Arabia’s supermarkets stocked with Ramadan staples despite coronavirus
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia’s spike in daily toll due to field testing, says minister

As the whole world struggles to fight the coronavirus pandemic, an unexpected outcome has been clearer skies.ChinaChina had a significant decrease in nitrogen dioxide pollution in cities like Beijing during February, when factories and streets were closed as authorities attempted to stop the spread of the virus, according to the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus satellite image.Images from the European Space Agency (ESA) Copernicus satellite released on March 19 revealed a dramatic reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions in all major Chinese cities between 20 December 2019 and 16 March 2020.For the latest coronavirus updates, visit our dedicated page. ItalyVenice canals, usually bogged down with tourists in gondolas and motorboats are now crystal clear after the Italian government closed the country to foreign tourists and told Italians to stay at home, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus.The difference in the air of Milan, Italy’s financial capital, from before the lockdown to April is stark. Only three months ago in January, the city was one of more of a dozen in Italy that introduced traffic curbs in a bid to reduce harmful emissions following a spike in pollution.FranceAir pollution from nitrogen dioxide has fallen by an estimated 40 percent in three European cities coinciding with a widespread lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, according to new satellite data released by the European Space Agency (ESA).The space agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite mission on March 27 released composite images showing nitrogen dioxide concentrations from March 14-25, 2020 over France and Spain, compared to the monthly average of concentrations from 2019.Streets of Paris, the world’s most visited city were largely deserted, empty of the columns of traffic that normally choke the air around landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe.IndiaIndians are breathing easier as a the biggest lockdown in the world to prevent the spread of coronavirus has kept cars off the roads and closed factories, leading to improved air quality in the world’s most polluted capital city, New Delhi.Landmarks such as the Presidential Palace and India Gate could be seen against blue skies on April 6.Last year, India accounted for around half of the world’s 50 most polluted cities, according to Swiss firm IQAir, with emissions caused partly by industry, vehicle exhaust and coal-fired plants.Carbon dioxide emissionsCarbon dioxide emissions could fall by the largest amount since World War II this year as the coronavirus outbreak brings economies to a virtual standstill, according to the chair of a network of scientists providing benchmark emissions data.But the improvements tied to a world-shaking global health emergency that has infected more than 2.2 million people by mid-April – while shuttering factories, grounding airlines and forcing hundreds of millions of people to stay at home to slow the contagion - could be short-lived.Experts warn that without structural change, the emissions declines caused by coronavirus could will not last and have little impact on the concentrations of carbon dioxide that have accumulated in the atmosphere over decades.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Before and after coronavirus: As humans lockdown, the planet air clears

The number of coronavirus cases in Saudi Arabia surpassed the 10,000 mark, climbing to 10,484, after 1,122 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the ministry of health announced on Monday.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page. Six new deaths were recorded since Sunday, bringing the total number of virus-related fatalities in the Kingdom to 103.All the new are non-citizens and include five people who lived in Mecca and one person who lived in Jeddah, the ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Abd al-Ali said.They were between the ages of 23 to 70 years old and most of them suffered from chronic illnesses he added.A total of 402 cases were recorded in Mecca, 200 in Riyadh, 186 in Jeddah, 120 in Medina, and 78 in Dammam.The other cases were reported in different areas across the Kingdom.Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Health Tawfiq al-Rabiah said on Monday that the spike in the numbers of daily reported coronavirus cases in the past three day is due to cases being detected by the expanded field testing programs that are taking place across the country.Medical teams have been conducting mass coronavirus screenings in neighborhoods across the Kingdom since Friday to ensure that cases are detected early.So far, 1,490 people have recovered from the virus in Saudi Arabia, according to the ministry.
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: Infections in Saudi Arabia surpass 10,000 after 1,122 cases reported

The number of coronavirus infections in the United Arab Emirates rose to 7,625 after 484 new cases were recorded, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday.Two new virus-related deaths were also reported in the country, bringing the total number of fatalities in the UAE to 43.For more coronavirus news, visit our dedicated page. Two residents of Asian origins died of the virus after facing complications, the ministry spokeswoman Farida al-Husseini said.So far, more than 1,360 people have recovered from the coronavirus in the UAE.The increase in the number of reported cases is largely due to the massive nationwide testing campaign launched over the past few weeks.The new cases that were reported today were detected after 25,795 tests were conducted around the country, al-Husseini added.Several drive-thru testing centers have been opened across the emirates, and a massive testing laboratory has also been established in Abu Dhabi. A home-testing service was also launched for people with disabilities.Read more: Coronavirus: UAE’s fatwa council say medical workers, patients exempt from fasting Coronavirus: Spending Ramadan in lockdown? Here’s what you can do during the month
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE reports 484 new cases, two new deaths

Online real estate company has seen 256% average week-on-week increase in listings for April
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: UAE proptech start-up Urban launches landlord solution

It has also been agreed to reschedule a number of construction and other projects to meet emergency costs of curtailing spread of coronavirus
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Bahrain announces 30% budget cuts

Plans announced to carry out testing of all citizens and residents across the country
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Coronavirus: UAE reports two more deaths as confirmed cases total 7,265

Group is the only remaining bidder for a 49 percent stake in Adnoc's %15bn pipeline business
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: GIP consortium to seek billion loan for Adnoc deal

Capital restructuring plan will see the cancellation of 21.3 percent of the company's shares
Source: Arabian Business
Full Article: Dubai's Deyaar to go ahead with capital restructuring plans

The pandemic is expected to be especially hard on migrant workers in the Mideast and South Asia, as it has left many of them unemployed and struggling to return home to an uncertain future.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: For Gulf, South Asia countries, worst is yet to come