Respondents share considering COVID-19 a high threat to their country in MENA 2020
As of March 2020, 79 percent of Lebanese respondents considered coronavirus (COVID-19) a high threat in varying degree to their country. In comparison, only 66 percent of respondents from the United Arab Emirates shared this opinion.
Global overview
Worldwide over 665.9 thousand people have been infected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). Whilst over 142.5 thousand people have recovered from the infection, around 31 thousand people have not survived the pandemic. Whilst the majority of those who contract the coronavirus may just experience cold- or flu-like symptoms, for certain groups such as the elderly or people with a compromised immune system or pre-existing heart and lung conditions, this disease could cause pneumonia, multi-organ failure or other fatal complications. Therefore most countries have implemented social distancing measures to radically reduce airborne coronavirus transmission.
Political implication
Among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Iran has had the highest infection rate followed by Israel and Saudi Arabia. A substantial proportion of people in the MENA region support closing their countries’ borders to reduce the threat of the pandemic. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are already suffering economically from travel restrictions due to a fall in income from pilgrims and tourists respectively.
Global overview
Worldwide over 665.9 thousand people have been infected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2). Whilst over 142.5 thousand people have recovered from the infection, around 31 thousand people have not survived the pandemic. Whilst the majority of those who contract the coronavirus may just experience cold- or flu-like symptoms, for certain groups such as the elderly or people with a compromised immune system or pre-existing heart and lung conditions, this disease could cause pneumonia, multi-organ failure or other fatal complications. Therefore most countries have implemented social distancing measures to radically reduce airborne coronavirus transmission.
Political implication
Among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Iran has had the highest infection rate followed by Israel and Saudi Arabia. A substantial proportion of people in the MENA region support closing their countries’ borders to reduce the threat of the pandemic. Countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are already suffering economically from travel restrictions due to a fall in income from pilgrims and tourists respectively.
