The MotoGP paddock has been given special dispensation to enter Qatar for next weekend’s opening round of the 2020 championship amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Previously, citizens of two of the countries most affected by the outbreak – Japan and Italy – were able to secure entry permission upon arrival. However, that service has now been suspended, and a form was circulated this afternoon by MotoGP organisers Dorna to allow people coming to work to still enter.

The series announced earlier today that members of the paddock already in the country following last weekend’s MotoGP test and this weekend’s Moto2 and Moto3 tests should remain. It comes as further advice was issued to visitors from Italy and Japan warning them of further screening.

The government has warned that all Italian and Japanese passengers will undergo thermometer testing in the airport to check their body temperature.

If found to be outside the normal range, they will be directly transported to Hamad Hospital for blood tests and then quarantined for up to 28 days.

A number of recent Malaysian arrivals from the Moto2 paddock have already undergone screening as they entered the country, being taken aside for additional questions and temperature checks.