Health officials are braced for an increase in polio cases after the global vaccination programme to eradicate the crippling disease was suspended because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Polio workers are being taken off door-to-door vaccination campaigns to protect them from contracting Covid-19 and are being reassigned to tackle the spread of coronavirus that causes the deadly new respiratory disease.
The Geneva-based Global Polio Eradication Initiative announced the ban last week. Vaccination operations in Pakistan, the country worst affected by polio, have been suspended until at least June, although officials expect the pause could be extended.
The quickly worsening Covid-19 pandemic has dealt an unprecedented blow to the long-running global campaign to eradicate the poliovirus, forcing vaccination campaigns to be suspended for the first time in three decades.
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Coronavirus in the Middle East
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Pakistan's extensive polio surveillance network, built up over years, is now being reassigned to detect cases of the pneumonia-causing coronavirus.
The suspension comes as Pakistan has been trying to overhaul its massive polio campaign after a painful 18 months which have seen cases soar. Factional infighting and a failure to overcome public suspicion have been blamed for undermining the campaign and allowing cases to jump from 12 in 2018 to 146 in 2019. There have already been 36 polio cases this year.
Definitely at some point we are going to have a boom of reported cases.
Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are the only two countries where people can still catch the wild strain of the virus, although there have been outbreaks elsewhere from strains linked to mutated vaccine.
In Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of children have been left vulnerable to the poliovirus as a result of an ongoing Taliban ban on door-to-door vaccination campaigns. The insurgents, who hold sway over almost half the country, accuse vaccination teams of acting as spies to gather intelligence for air strikes.
The pause in vaccinations will increase the numbers at risk.
"Cases will go up, there's not enough herd immunity," a World Health Organisation official told The National.
Cases of other vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles are also expected to rise as general immunisation centres in Pakistan and Afghanistan are closed.
Dennis Chimenya, spokesman for Unicef's polio programme in Pakistan, said workers hoped they had turned the corner with Pakistan's troubled programme. National vaccination sweeps in December and February had been judged successes. But now April's sweep has been cancelled, officials are preparing for an increase in cases later in the year.
“Definitely at some point we are going to have a boom of reported cases. It's really a bad development,” he said.
Sona Bari, a spokeswoman for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, said house-to-house campaigns had been paused for the safety of workers and local people.
Polio staff would continue to monitor polio disease levels and develop vaccines “and very importantly be prepared to fire up campaigns as soon as safely possible, given that we can expect vaccine-preventable disease to rise”.
The World Health Organisation's Michel Zaffran, who heads GPEI, last week said he was “devastated” to have to stop operations.
The GPEI has come tantalisingly close to wiping out polio since it was set up in 1988 at a time when the disease paralysed about 1,000 children each day. Officials estimate that worldwide, more than 10 billion doses of polio drops have been given, saving some 6.5 million children from paralysis. Yet despite the progress, the disease is proving stubbornly hard to stamp out and officials have been concerned by the recent spread of small clusters of disease traced to a strain of mutated vaccine.
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
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Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
Usain Bolt's time for the 100m at major championships
2008 Beijing Olympics 9.69 seconds
2009 Berlin World Championships 9.58
2011 Daegu World Championships Disqualified
2012 London Olympics 9.63
2013 Moscow World Championships 9.77
2015 Beijing World Championships 9.79
2016 Rio Olympics 9.81
2017 London World Championships 9.95
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
Other simple ideas for sushi rice dishes
Cheat’s nigiri
This is easier to make than sushi rolls. With damp hands, form the cooled rice into small tablet shapes. Place slices of fresh, raw salmon, mackerel or trout (or smoked salmon) lightly touched with wasabi, then press, wasabi side-down, onto the rice. Serve with soy sauce and pickled ginger.
Easy omurice
This fusion dish combines Asian fried rice with a western omelette. To make, fry cooked and cooled sushi rice with chopped vegetables such as carrot and onion and lashings of sweet-tangy ketchup, then wrap in a soft egg omelette.
Deconstructed sushi salad platter
This makes a great, fuss-free sharing meal. Arrange sushi rice on a platter or board, then fill the space with all your favourite sushi ingredients (edamame beans, cooked prawns or tuna, tempura veggies, pickled ginger and chilli tofu), with a dressing or dipping sauce on the side.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sheer grandeur
The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.
A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.
Don't get fined
The UAE FTA requires following to be kept:
- Records of all supplies and imports of goods and services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents related to receiving goods or services
- All tax invoices and tax credit notes
- Alternative documents issued
- Records of goods and services that have been disposed of or used for matters not related to business
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m
Kibsons%20Cares
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