A majority of the respondents to an online survey conducted by Al Sharq supported the idea of introducing mandatory medical check up for foreigners on arrival at the points of entry.
An overwhelming 80 percent of the respondents were in favour of the proposal while 18 percent opposed it. The remaining two percent didn’t express any view.
The mandatory medical check is currently conducted by the Medical Commission within a month after a foreigner enters the country. Foreign workers seeking a residence permit in the country are required to report at the Commission within two weeks after their arrival, while those on visit must undergo the test within a month.
Qatar had introduced screening at the Doha International Airport following the H1N1 outbreak last year to identity cases of high fever but it was stopped after the pandemic threat disappeared.
The high incidence of infectious diseases detected during the tests conducted by Medical Commission had triggered calls to intensify monitoring on foreigners arriving in the country.
Qatar is in the final phase of preparations to make the medical check up mandatory for foreigners seeking jobs in the country in the countries of origin.
Reacting to the survey, some medical experts supported the idea of introducing medical check up in the airports and other points of entry saying that it could better protect people in the country from infectious diseases. Some countries have introduced such tests and Qatar is capable of doing that, they felt.
Some other respondents, however, said such tests are necessary only in emergency situations like an epidemic outbreak.
Once the medical check in the countries of origin is introduced, it can become an effective tool against the spread of infectious diseases in the country.
The Peninsula