A report alleging that Qatar is covering up the true scale of its battle with coronavirus has blown open the debate surrounding the Gulf country’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Demands to move the tournament from Qatar have been reignited following the release of the 10-page document, which was authored by London-based management consultancy Cornerstone Global Associates.
“By the middle of August 2020, Qatar suffered the world’s highest coronavirus infection rate per head of population,” the report said.
“An internal memo conducted by a leading construction company in Qatar working on FIFA projects raised concerns that many of its laborers who were infected had died, but were not reported as COVID-19 deaths,” it added.
“The concerns are in line with questions about the clear discrepancy between the number of infections and the mortality rate.
“The internal memo referred to the repatriation of the bodies of the deceased to their native Nepal and India. This practice goes against the recommendation by health authorities around the world. It also suggests that the Qatari authorities have been misreporting COVID-19 deaths, thereby misleading the global health care community.”
Experts said: “Qatar claims only 201 deaths from COVID-19, suggesting a mortality rate of 0.17 percent.” The firm’s health experts said such a rate “seems grossly underestimated.”
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