Highlights...
1. Though Kuwait has a very low death rate, it has a high positivity of 9%. Unfortunately, a rich country like Kuwait still does not have good testing credentials, considering it has a large migrant population living in congested housing. Recently, it showed a false negative for three days, following which the curve moved right back up, re-testing the prior daily highs.
2. Qatar, another rich country in the region, is nowhere close to where it should be right now. Unfortunately, after each retracement, the country faced newer and bigger surges, overtaking the prior daily highs. It has one of the highest per capita cases at 19,783 versus Kuwait's 6,341 which itself is quite high. The most tragic issue Qatar has been facing is the extremely high positivity rate of 26%, meaning every fourth person being tested turns out positive. This country also has a large migrant population so the need to extend the tests to that population is clear and present.
3. Though Saudi Arabia has one of the lowest per capita cases at 2,452, it also has the most abysmal per capita testing record at 23,666, as compared to that of UAE at 213,608. Additionally, it has a high positivity rate of 10%. On the positive side, it has been tapering fast. Saudi Arabia's economy runs off the expatriates and migrant laborers, so it is critical that it increases testing at a rapid pace before a second wave takes over the country.
4. The UAE is the only country in the region with 2M+ test credentials, translating to a per capita rate at 213,608, which is also one of the highest in the world. It also has the lowest positivity rate of 2%. Since it peaked in mid-May, it has been steadily declining. It needs to extend its testing to its large migrant population, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, to avoid having to fear a second wave in cooler months ahead.
Stay safe!
Data Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
-Sid Som
homequant@gmail.com
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