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See also:	Other events of 2020 History of Qatar

This is a list of notable events that occurred in2020 inQatar.

• Emir:Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani

• 14 January – Qatar enacts Article 136 (bis) criminalizing “fake news”; the public backlash andHuman Rights Watch criticizes it as afree speech setback.^[1]

• 6 February –Northwestern University move aMashrou’ Leila talk from its Doha campus toChicago due to security concerns, amid controversy overQatar's restrictions on LGBT expression.^[2]
• 7 February – Labourers onWorld Cup-related projects receive two months of overdue wages after protesting non-payment.^[3]
• 13 February – ManyQatari managerial employees receive four to five months of delayed salaries after intervention bythe government.^[3]
• 27 February – The first case inCOVID-19 the country was confirmed.^[4]
• 29 February – Qatar hostsU.S.-Taliban talks, leading to a peace agreement aimed at ending the 19-yearAfghan war.^[5]

• 11 March –Qatar enters its first official lockdown withretail, salons, andgyms closed; onlygroceries andpharmacies remain open.^[6]

• 7 April –Human Rights Watch and 28 other groups urgeQatar to unblockWhatsApp,Skype, andFaceTime during theCOVID-19 pandemic;Teams andZoom are already accessible.^[7]

• 2 May – ACOVID-19 outbreak is reported in Doha central prison, withovercrowding, limited medical care, and inadequate hygiene. TheQatari government confirms the cases and says regular health checks and testings have been conducted.^[8]
• 22 May – The EHTERAZcontact-tracing app becomes mandatory; restrictions on vehicle capacity, buses, and group sports are introduced.^[6]

• 1 June – New legislation restricts outdoor work inextreme heat, prohibiting work from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and stopping work atwet-bulb globe temperatures above 32.1 °C.^[9]
• 28 June – Employees of Imperial Trading and Construction Company (ITCC) file complaints with the Labor Dispute Resolution Committees andlocal police over months of unpaid wages.^[10]

• 14 July – TheInternational Court of Justice rules in favor of Qatar, rejecting an appeal byBahrain,Saudi Arabia,Egypt and theUnited Arab Emirates (UAE), allowing theInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to determine the legality of a 2017 package of sanctions which included air blockades.^[11]

• 30 August – Qatar ends thekafala system, allowingmigrant workers to change jobs freely, introducing a non-discriminatoryminimum wage of 1,000QAR with allowances for food and housing.^[12]

• 2 October – Qatari authorities subject women on aQatar Airways flight to forcedgynecological exams after apremature baby is found abandoned atHamad International Airport.^[13][14]
• 27 October – The Qatari Government Communications Office confirms that the Labor Ministry had openedlegal proceedings against Lalibela Cleaning & Services for unpaid wages and delayed salary payments.^[10]

• 21 December – ThePfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrives in Qatar; priority is given toseniors,chronic patients, and frontline health workers.^[6]

• 2020 in Qatar
• Years of the 21st century in Qatar
• 2020 by country
• 2020 in Asia
• 2020s in Qatar

• Articles with short description
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