Doha, 07 May 2020 (Qatar Tribune)

By Ashraf Siddiqui

Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI) and the Italian Universities of Rome Tor Vergata and Trieste have established cooperation to
collect and analyse genomic information to study the different impacts of COVID-19 among the population, Italian Ambassador to Qatar HE Alessandro Prunas
has said.

In an exclusive with Qatar Tribune, Ambassador Prunas said Qatar Foundation’s Hospital Mater Olbia in Sardinia and Hamad Medical Corporation are also working to find new therapies to treat COVID-19 patients based on the use of plasma from recovered individuals.

He lauded Qatar’s humanitarian support to provide Italy with two fully equipped field hospitals with capacity of 1,000 beds to treat people with the coronavirus.

Advising his community members in Qatar, the envoy said, “As a result of the social distancing measures, which are crucial in containing COVID-19, we all have
to change our daily routine, go out only if strictly necessary, use face masks in public spaces and reduce contacts with other people. Fortunately, thanks to technology, we can be fully operative working remotely and limit staff in workplaces at the minimum level required to ensure continuity of services.”

Talking about his personal contact with the family members back in Italy, he said, “It is not easy not to see them but we have to adopt responsible behaviours to
protect who we love most.” The envoy said he is working from home, holding meetings through telephone and video conferences with Qatari officials and members of the other diplomatic missions to ensure regular coordination on dossiers and plan new activities.

Prunas said that despite the emergency, services go on as usual at the embassy. He said, “What has changed is how we deliver them to adapt our work flows
to this unprecedented situation and the many ideas and projects we have in mind for the future.”

On the likely impact of the pandemic on normal life in future, the Italian envoy said every country would have to deal with the consequences of the pandemic either in social or economic terms.