Doha - (AFP) - Qatar announced on Wednesday that it will cancel the requirement that those wishing to travel to it possess a negative result for a Covid examination, starting from November 1, that is, 20 days before the start of the FIFA World Cup in the emirate.

And the Qatari Ministry of Health said in a statement that, starting next Tuesday, “the submission or presentation of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result or rapid antigen test will be canceled for all visitors before traveling to Qatar.”

And the 2022 World Cup, which Qatar will host from November 20 to December 18, will be the first major global sporting event to be watched by large audiences since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

More than a million fans are expected to flock to the Gulf emirate to attend the matches.

In its statement, the Ministry of Health stated that it will also cancel, starting next Tuesday, the requirement to “perform a rapid antigen examination or a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for citizens and residents after arriving in the State of Qatar.”

Currently, both citizens and foreigners must undergo one of these two examinations within 24 hours of their arrival in Qatar.

As of November 1, no foreign tourist will be able to enter Qatar if they do not have a Haya card.

As for the “Ehteraz” application to trace contacts of people with Covid, which all residents of Qatar must now download on their phones in order to be able to enter any closed public place such as metro trains or commercial centers, it will no longer be compulsory, starting next Tuesday, except in health centers exclusively.

The ministry said that these updates were decided especially "in light of the continued decline in the number of cases of Covid-19 virus infection around the world and in the State of Qatar."