Local sales & markets affected by corona virus infection fears

Kuwaitis shun travel to East Asian countries

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah with

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr Nayef Al-Hajraf. Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah received Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr Nayef AlHajraf on Sunday.

During the meeting Sheikh Dr Ahmad wished Dr Al-Hajraf to succeed in the position he assumed early this year, and enhance the role of the GCC system in fulfilling the aspirations of the GCC people.

The meeting also gathered Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Al-Jarallah, Assistant Foreign Minister for GCC Affairs Nasser Al-Mezyen and Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister Ahmad AlShuraym as well as other senior officials. (KUNA) KUWAIT CITY, Feb 17: The repercussions of the emerging corona virus have exceeded the concerns of Kuwaitis and residents in Kuwait about the transmission of the virus infection to their fears of a shortage of some food products imported by Kuwait from China, prompting those in charge of the food security file to consider importing products that have become scarce in some cooperative societies and hypermarkets from countries to make up for any shortages in the future, reports AlRai daily.

Green ginger and Chinese carrots are at the top of the list of food products that may be subject to scarcity or deficiency in the coming days, in light of fears that the shortage will extend to more than one Chinese agricultural product in the coming days.

The head of the General Union of Cooperative Societies, Mishal Al-Sayyar, told the daily the union has not yet identified the shortage of any agricultural product, and said that the union has not yet registered any complaints of shortage in any agricultural product.

Al-Sayyar pointed out the union is keen to import all agricultural products from multiple countries to secure food commodities for citizens at reasonable prices.

For his part, Khaled Al-Hudhaiban, VicePresident of the Cooperative Societies, said that the risks of spreading the corona virus directly affected the import of some Chinese agricultural products, including ginger, and stressed on the ability of the union to fill any shortage in any agricultural product through other countries.

The Al-Rai daily during a quick tour of the electric appliances market in the Shuwaikh Industrial Area say there is smell of stagnation in the sales movement compared to the past few weeks as a result of shut down of most factories supplying electrical tools manufactured in China, which has helped increase the cost of some materials.

One of the vendors says that the sales have been heavily affected by the corona virus, as China is the biggest supplier of electrical appliances in the market.

Meanwhile, many tourism and travel agencies say a large number of tickets bookings by Kuwaitis and expatriates, for travel to East Asian countries have been cancelled, due to the fear of the corona virus, pointing out most of them have rescheduled their trips to Europe, America, London and Turkey, reports Al-Rai daily.

A large number of travelers during national holidays and foreign school holidays have changed their travel destinations in light of the emergence of the virus in a number of East Asian countries, along with warnings issued by Kuwait to its citizens not to travel to these areas at the present time.

They explained ticket cancellations are mainly to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore, while most of them have lost the value of tickets and hotel reservations because in many cases they fall in the nonrefundable category.

The managers affirmed that tickets and hotel bookings of the refunded category are about 20 percent more expensive than non-refundable.

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 17, (KUNA): Kuwait Down’s Syndrome Society opened a gallery at Al-Adwani Hall in Abdullah Al-Salem neighborhood, on Sunday evening to showcase artworks and handicrafts made by children with Down’s syndrome.

The event, organized in collaboration with National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), is themed “with you our lives get colored.”

Speaking to KUNA on the sidelines of the opening ceremony, NCCAL Assistant Secretary-General for the Arts Sector Dr Bader AlDowaish said the gallery is part of the society’s efforts to integrate children with DNS into the Kuwaiti community.

He expressed admiration for the creative products displayed by “this important segment of the community.”

On her part, Chairperson of Kuwait Down’s Syndrome Society Dr

Seddiqa Al-Awadhi said the society works relentlessly to improve the lives of people with disabilities and help reach their full potentials.

“The five-day event showcases distinguished portraits and handicrafts, most of them were sold, thanks to the large number of visitors,” she pointed out.

Dr Al-Awadhi thanked the Awqaf Secretariat and NCCAL for supporting the activities of the society and helping organize the gallery.