Qatar's main healthcare provider has suspended leave for all medical and administrative staff dealing with Covid, as infections surge across the Gulf.

The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Qatar — have been recording their highest numbers of new cases in months.

“Due to the recent increase in the number of people infected with Covid-19 in Qatar [...] the difficult decision has been made to put on hold all approved and future employees' leave requests for clinical and admin staff who are working in Covid-19 activities,” the state-owned Hamad Medical Corporation said in an internal memo circulated on Monday and seen by AFP.