As travel slowly opens up and more countries ease movement restrictions, Etihad Airways has introduced a new interactive map to help advise travellers who are considering booking a flight.
Designed to help people keep up to date with endless travel updates, the interactive map details what restrictions are in place and where.
It’s available for anyone to use on Etihad’s website and is updated continuously to ensure information is as accurate as possible.
Clicking on a country brings up detailed information about the destination during the pandemic. This includes policies on entry restrictions, airport and transport information, social distancing rules and information on what tourism activities are currently allowed.
Each country also has a Covid-19 assessment gauge, with an arrow that rises or falls to reflect the current coronavirus situation in a particular destination. This follows a traffic light colour system, with red representing countries with high rates of infection and green for destinations where the pandemic seems to be under control.
It also lists the number of current active cases per 100,000 of each country's population. Where there is a lack of information available, the map warns users that a destination is "showing irregular reporting".
The map is powered by Sitata, a Canadian travel risk management company that specialises in using computer algorithms to detect travel disruption around the world.
“Since the beginning of the outbreak, our customer support lines have been inundated with questions from travellers asking if they should travel or not and what their risk might be,” said Sitata on its website. "We realised that, despite all of our collective efforts, some individuals are still going to travel if they can, and so we assembled this tool to try to highlight the associated risks and keep people informed as best we can."
Travellers should also check country regulations
The map is continuously updated using data from the World Health Organisation, Johns Hopkins CSSE, ProMed, government public health departments and local news sources, however accuracy cannot be fully guaranteed.
Etihad advises travellers to check rules and regulations issued by countries around the world. "It’s really important that you read these guidelines before you travel, and follow them at all times," explains the airline on its website.
"If you’re flying with any of our codeshare partner airlines, always check their regulations before you fly," concludes the advice.
The map is the latest tool introduced by the Abu Dhabi airline to assist people considering travel. It previously introduced an AI-powered self assessment tool to help passengers determine their probability of having contracted coronavirus.
Etihad has also implemented upgraded hygiene and safety standards on all flights, including introducing Wellness Ambassadors on flights as a first point of contact for travellers flying during the pandemic.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
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