Infectious disease experts are expressing concern about Pope Francis’s trip to Iraq this week, given a surge in coronavirus infections there, a fragile healthcare system and the crowds that will come to see him.
No one wants to tell the Pope, 84, to call it off, and the Iraqi government wants to show off its relative stability by welcoming the first pope to the birthplace of Abraham.
The trip, from March 5 to 8, is expected to provide a badly needed spiritual boost to Iraq’s beleaguered Christians and advance the Vatican’s efforts to better connect with the Muslim world.
But health experts say the trip during a pandemic is not advisable and sends a poor public health message.
Their concerns were reinforced with the news on Sunday that the Vatican ambassador to Iraq, who would have escorted Francis to all of his appointments, tested positive for Covid-19 and was in isolation.
Archbishop Mitja Leskovar’s symptoms were mild and he was continuing to prepare for Francis’ visit, the embassy told AP.
Experts said wars, economic crisis and a mass departure of Iraqi professionals have devastated the country’s hospital system.
And studies show most of Iraq’s new Covid-19 infections are the highly contagious variant first identified in Britain.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” said Dr Navid Madani, virologist and founding director of the Centre for Science Health Education in the Mena region at Harvard Medical School.
The Iranian-born Dr Madani co-wrote an article in The Lancet last year on the region's uneven response to Covid-19.
It said Iraq, Syria and Yemen were poorly placed to cope, given that they are still struggling with extremist insurgencies and have 40 million people who need humanitarian aid.
Dr Madani said people in the Middle East were known for their hospitality, and the desire of Iraqis to welcome Francis to a neglected, war-torn part of the world might lead to breaches of virus control measures.
“This could potentially lead to unsafe or super-spreading risks,” she said.
Dr Bharat Pankhania, an infectious disease control expert at the University of Exeter College of Medicine, agreed.
“It’s a perfect storm for generating lots of cases, which you won’t be able to deal with,” Dr Pankhania said.
Organisers promise to enforce the wearing of masks, social distancing and crowd limits, and the possibility of increased testing sites, Iraqi government officials said.
The healthcare protocols are “critical but can be managed,” one official told AP.
And the Vatican has taken its own precautions, with the Pope, his 20-member Vatican entourage and the about 70 journalists on the papal plane vaccinated.
But the Iraqis gathering in the north, centre and south of the country to attend Francis’s indoor and outdoor Masses, hear his speeches and take part in his prayer meetings are not vaccinated.
“We are in the middle of a global pandemic and it is important to get the correct messages out,” Dr Pankhania said.
“The correct messages are: the less interactions with fellow human beings, the better.”
He questioned how it would look, with the Vatican delegation inoculated while Iraqis are not.
“You are all protected from severe disease, so if you get infected, you’re not going to die," he said, referring to Vatican officials and the media. "But the people coming to see you may get infected and may die.
"Is it wise under that circumstance for you to just turn up? And because you turn up, people turn up to see you and they get infected?”
The World Health Organisation said countries should evaluate the risk of such an event spreading the disease, and then decide if it should be postponed.
“It’s all about managing that risk,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19.
“It’s about looking at the epidemiologic situation in the country and then making sure that if that event is to take place, that it can take place as safely as possible.”
Pope Francis has said he intends to go even if most Iraqis have to watch him on television to avoid infection.
The important thing, he told Catholic News Service, is “they will see that the Pope is there in their country".
He has frequently called for an equitable distribution of vaccines and respect for government health measures, although he tends not to wear face masks.
The Pope has for months avoided even socially distanced public audiences at the Vatican to limit the chance of contagion.
Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton’s medical faculty, said the number of new daily cases in Iraq is “increasing significantly at the moment”.
The Iraqi Health Ministry is reporting about 4,000 cases a day, close to the height of its first wave in September.
Dr Head said for any event in Iraq, measures such as wearing masks, washing hands, social distancing and good ventilation indoors must be enforced.
“Hopefully we will see proactive approaches to infection control in place during the pope’s visit to Baghdad,” he said.
The Iraqi government imposed a modified lockdown and curfew in mid-February amid a new surge in cases, closing schools and mosques and leaving restaurants and cafes only open for takeout.
But the government decided against a full shutdown because of the difficulty of enforcing it and the financial effect on Iraq’s battered economy.
Many Iraqis remain lax in using masks and some doubt the severity of the virus.
Dr Madani urged trip organisers to let science and data guide their decisions.
Rescheduling or postponing the papal trip, or moving it online would have a significant effect “from a global leadership standpoint”, she said.
“It would signal prioritising the safety of Iraq’s public,” Dr Madani said.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
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• Goals
• Penalty decisions
• Direct red-card incidents
• Mistaken identity
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Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The specs: Macan Turbo
Engine: Dual synchronous electric motors
Power: 639hp
Torque: 1,130Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Touring range: 591km
Price: From Dh412,500
On sale: Deliveries start in October
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Tamkeen's offering
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- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
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Ep5: Travel and tourism
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The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
CREW
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
