As warmer weather takes hold, the developed world has in recent days begun to relax public health restrictions and ease into a more comfortable, if still anxious, post-pandemic reality.
"Spring blossoms and vaccinations are bringing the city out of hibernation," The New York Times said last week, suggesting more than a dozen local restaurants where residents might catch up on their socialising and dining out.
The UAE is continuing to reopen after achieving a vaccination rate of more than one per resident last week. British pubs and restaurants are reopening, as the UK sees just 2,000 new cases per day, a sliver of its January peak. Then there's Israel, which achieved herd immunity weeks ago and is "partying like it's 2019", says The Washington Post.
But 2020 has returned with a vengeance in much of the world. India is chest-deep in a Covid-19 calamity: the country recorded nearly 350,000 cases on Sunday, the highest single-day total for any country since the start of the pandemic. The result is widespread terror, shortages of just about everything and countless deaths happening in real-time on social media.
Turkey is seeing the world's second-most new daily cases, at around 55,000, and hit several highs for new cases and deaths in the past week. The latter could also be said of Argentina, Iran and Peru. Ukraine has been locked down for five weeks, yet numbers remain near their peaks and last week the government extended the lockdown yet again. Brazil and Chile have also seen record highs this month, though they appear to have gotten their respective situations under control.
If it surprises you to know that 2021 is on pace to record more global Covid-19 deaths than 2020, I have a decent idea where you live. A year after its emergence, the pandemic's persistence is linked to GDP and global status. We knew all along it would happen, and now it's here: the Covid gap between the haves and have-nots. This is precisely why the World Health Organisation (WHO) a year ago launched an accelerator that included the Covax programme, to bring wealthier countries together to fund vaccine distribution in poorer states.
The programme has thus far delivered just 45 million doses of its target of 2 billion by the end of the year. Overall, of the 1bn doses delivered across the world, more than 82 per cent have been given in wealthier countries. That's right, less than one out of five global jabs has gone to the neediest. As a result, many influential voices have in recent weeks called on western countries, particularly the US, to support a patent waiver that would enable generic firms in poorer countries to produce vaccines.
The waiver is already backed by more than 100 countries, and seems a no-brainer. But flattening the curve is not just about getting vaccines. Turkey, for instance, has vaccinated about the same percentage of its population as Norway and France, which are seeing much fewer Covid cases. And the US state of Michigan has seen a sharp increase in cases this month, despite being part of a country winning plaudits for rapid vaccine roll-out.
The failures of some states seem to be as much about problematic governance and inadequate healthcare systems, as well as the spread of more transmissible variants. India's Covid-19 management in recent months echoed that of the US under former president Donald Trump last year, with election rallies, easing of restrictions and talk of beating the virus weeks before the country’s healthcare system buckled under the pandemic burden.
The failures in Turkey have been more subtle, though potentially just as troubling. The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) warned again this month that the country’s crisis could be more severe than official statistics suggest. TTB says the country’s health ministry has been dismissing WHO guidelines and registering many Covid-related deaths as “infectious disease/natural death”, keeping the numbers artificially low.
Many countries have under-reported death counts, but with Turkey the problem is particularly acute, in part because the government provides no data on excess deaths. “The numbers of deaths and cases are at least two times higher than the announced figures. I am saying this scientifically,” TTB Secretary General Vedat Bulut told Turkish news agency Bianet last week.
Last year, the Turkish Thoracic Society compared the January-April 2020 burial totals for Istanbul and Trabzon to those of the previous four years. They found a sharp increase in both cities in March-April 2020, a gap much greater than the number of reported Covid-19 deaths.
If we expand this reporting gap across the country and extend it over a year, it would represent tens of thousands of unreported deaths. This would help explain Turkey’s 0.8 per cent Covid death rate, among the lowest in the world. Russia and the UK have recorded roughly the same number of cases as Turkey, but about three times as many deaths.
A woman takes care of her husband who has Covid-19 as they wait outside the casualty ward at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, in New Delhi, India. Reuters
Family members mourn after a man is declared dead amid a surge in coronavirus cases in India. Reuters
A patient with breathing problems is seen inside a car while waiting to enter a hospital for treatment, amid the spread of the coronavirus in Ahmedabad, India. Reuters
India’s second Covid-19 wave is devastating, with more than new 200,000 coronavirus cases recorded each day. Reuters
Dr Rajesh Bhagchandani, centre, a director at Apex hospital in Bhopal city, intubates a patient. He feels helpless that the hospital, which is now reserved for critically ill Covid-19 patients, cannot accommodate more people who require oxygen. Dr Rajesh Bhagchandani
Dr Himanshu Dewan, director of critical care at QRG hospital in Faridabad, a town near India’s capital New Delhi, says the number of deaths will climb because patients do not have access to treatment. Dr Himanshu Dewan
A health worker arranges oxygen cylinders that are being used for Covid-19 coronavirus patients at a private hospital in Allahabad. AFP
Dr Himanshu Dewan, director of critical care at QRG hospital in Faridabad, a town near India’s capital New Delhi, is acutely aware a patient could die on the road if turned by hospitals that cannot admit more Covid-19 cases . Courtesy: Dr Himanshu Dewan
A man carries an empty oxygen cylinder to get it refilled at a private refilling station, for his relative who is suffering from the coronavirus disease, in New Delhi. Reuters
Patients with breathing problems are seen inside an ambulance waiting to enter a Covid-19 hospital for treatment in Ahmedabad. Reuters
A health worker collects a nasal swab sample from a woman in Amritsar. AFP
An Indian police officer distributes face masks in Hyderabad. AP Photo
A health worker administers the Covidshield vaccine at a government hospital in Hyderabad. AP Photo
People wearing masks wait to test for Covid-19 at a hospital in Hyderabad. AP Photo
A health worker takes a mouth swab sample at a hospital in Hyderabad. AP Photo
Nuns wait to take a test for Covid-19 at a test center in Kolkata, Eastern India. EPA
Last October, Turkey admitted to only reporting symptomatic cases and altered its policy. But it never updated its overall case count with the missing three to four months of unreported asymptomatic cases. Even so, the world’s 18th-most populous country is set to pass Russia this week to rank fifth globally in total Covid cases.
To top it off, the government has generally ignored health experts, according to a report for the US National Institutes of Health: “Health‐related associations are prevented from actively participating in the fight against Covid‐19, data sharing by health professionals working in the field is considered a crime, and health associations that comment on the deficiencies of the Ministry of Health in the fight against Covid‐19 are marginalised.”
Hospitals are running low on vaccines and intensive care units are running short on beds. Turkey re-instituted restrictions in recent weeks and went into full lockdown over the long holiday weekend, a necessary but fraught move in a country facing persistently high inflation and unemployment, increased poverty and unstable financial markets.
Tourism and related industries represent 7-8 per cent of Turkey’s GDP, yet the main tourist period – from April to October – is again endangered. Russia has already suspended commercial flights to Turkey until June 1. In 2019, Turkey welcomed 45 million foreign visitors, including 7 million Russians. Last year, the total was just over 12 million, and 2021 may see similarly weak visitor numbers.
The knock-on effects of a Covid-19 spike are endless. Due to the pandemic-driven economic troubles in Turkey, for instance, Syrian refugee charity funding has fallen as much as 90 per cent. Market analyst Capital Economics warned in a report last week that fresh virus outbreaks in emerging markets would lead to further slowdowns and weigh on broader economic output. There’s also a geopolitical cost. Already, as the West has dragged its feet, Russia has stepped in to deliver Sputnik V vaccines to Argentina, Peru, Tunisia, Bolivia and beyond, boosting its reputation and influence.
India alone represents a sixth of humanity. Toss in all the other emerging markets dealing with a revived pandemic and we’re talking about a quarter or even a third of all people on the planet. As long as Covid-19 rages somewhere, people everywhere face an indirect health threat as well as continuing economic and political instability.
On the weekend, Aurelia Nguyen, the head of Covax, urged countries with excess vaccine supply to share with poorer countries, citing a "real and pressing need" a full year after the programme's launch.
What happens in India does not stay in India, and poorer countries should not have to fend off the virus on their own. Despite the re-opening some might be enjoying, we are a long way from the end of the pandemic. Getting there will require global action – the time is now.
David Lepeska is a Turkish and Eastern Mediterranean affairs columnist for The National
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
8.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Taneen, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
