Qatar has reported 3,487 new cases - almost 10% of those tested -- outpacing a previous high of 2,355 seen in May 2020.
On Saturday, Qatar reintroduced a set of rules limiting home gatherings to 10 vaccinated people, barring unvaccinated people from entering malls and restaurants and reducing capacity limits for some commercial establishments. Schools in Qatar have reintroduced distance learning until at least January 27.
To relieve pressure on Qatar's testing infrastructure authorities on Wednesday urged travelers and some symptomatic people to take rapid antigen tests, which don't need to be processed in a laboratory, rather than PCR tests.
It also opened a new 10-lane drive-through PCR testing station to sample up to 5,000 people a day.
