Proposals seek cut in rent for off days set by government, pay cuts
Call for official end to academic year
KUWAIT CITY, May 6: The parliamentary Health, Social and Labor Affairs Committee has asked Health Minister Dr Bassel Al-Sabah to provide the medical staff with all the necessary protective equipment, especially since the number of medical workers infected with coronavirus continues to increase, says Rapporteur of the Committee MP Sa’adoun
Hammad.
In a press statement, Hammad disclosed the committee made the request during its meeting with the minister and Undersecretary Dr Mustafa Reda on Tuesday when they tackled the latest developments on coronavirus.
He said the committee also requested the minister to submit a copy of the report of the delegation of Chinese doctors who visited public hospitals recently. The minister promised to send a copy of the report once the ministry receives it from the delegation that already left Kuwait, he added.
Asked to clarify news that the Chinese delegation was not allowed to visit wards allocated for coronavirus patients in Jaber Hospital, the minister informed the committee that the Chinese Embassy in Kuwait issued a directive to the delegation to refrain from visiting such wards, the lawmaker revealed.
The minister also told the committee that buildings C and D at Jaber Hospital are allotted for Kuwaitis infected with coronavirus – a total of 480 beds and 96 beds in the intensive care units, indicating the same number of beds are allotted for coronavirus patients in the new Jahra Hospital. The total number of beds allocated for coronavirus patients in various hospitals reached 10,000; in addition to 1,800 beds in field hospitals and quarantine centers, he concluded.
Member of the committee MP Muhammad Al-Hewailah quoted the minister as saying that the Chinese medical delegation praised the procedures adopted by the ministry to deal with coronavirus.
He went on to say that the minister communicated with an American company, which manufactures a drug for coronavirus patients, to supply Kuwait with the drug.
Another committee member MP Osama Al-Shaheen stressed the importance of strictly following the regulations laid down by medical authorities, pointing out that 40 percent of those infected with coronavirus do not exhibit symptoms but they can still infect others who might suffer a lot due to the disease.
He warned against comparing the number of coronavirus cases in Kuwait to the rates in some countries. He explained the comparison might be inaccurate, because some countries are concealing the actual number of cases for political reasons. He said it is too early to talk about easing regulations on coronavirus due to the rising number of cases.
Hesitant
In another development, MP Sa’adoun Hammad wondered why Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Soud AlHarbi is hesitant in ending the academic year. It seems the minister is unaware of the rising number of coronavirus cases, which reached more than 350 in a day, he asserted.
He pointed out that if Al-Harbi responded immediately to calls to end the academic year, a big number of expatriate teachers and their families would have left the country before the suspension of flights.
He urged HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid to interfere to end the academic year, allow grades one to 11 students to move to the next level, and approve the proposal to consider the results of first semester exams as the final results for grade 12 students.
In addition, he criticized the decision of Social Affairs Minister Mariam AlAqeel to dissolve the boards of directors of several cooperative societies during this critical time. He argued the minister should have referred those suspected of involvement in anomalies to the Public Prosecution. He said the appointment of a new manager requires stocktaking, which means closing the cooperative society for several days.
Deliberate
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee MP Khalid Al-Shatti submitted a bill on amending Rent Law No. 35/1978 as the number of rent-related lawsuits will increase in the coming period due to exceptional circumstances brought about by the coronavirus cases. He said such lawsuits are referred to the First Instance Court where three judges deliberate on one lawsuit, indicating the bill stipulates assigning only one judge for this purpose.
He added the bill also stipulates deducting the number of days covered by the decision of the concerned authorities to suspend work in the public and private sectors due to the coronavirus crisis from the rental fee. He explained the payment of rent shall start once the authorities announce the date of resumption of work in both sectors.
Moreover, MP Ahmed Al-Fadl submitted a bill on amending the Private Sector Labor Law in a bid to find more alternatives for the employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during difficult times; such as epidemics, disasters and even when these employees face problems. He pointed out the current options include terminating the services of the employees or paying them full salary.
He clarified this bill has nothing to do with the proposal that the government intends to submit soon which, according to a number of MPs, include reducing salaries.
The bill stipulates that the employer can submit a request to the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) to study his file and determine if the employer lacks cash flow due to the abovementioned incidents. The authority should carefully
Palestinian Ministry of Health said five more people tested positive for the coronavirus to increase infections to 543.
It added in a statement the five new infections were registered in Al-Samoo’ town near the West Bank city of Al-Khalil.
They were infected because they came into close contact with laborers who work inside Israel, it added.
As the coronavirus pandemic gathered strength last month, community leaders in a Palestinian neighborhood on the outskirts of Jerusalem tried to impose lockdown and quarantine measures to protect residents.
The problem: there were no police to enforce the measures.
Kufr Aqab is within the Israeli-drawn municipal boundary of Jerusalem, which Israel views as its unified capital. It is therefore offlimits to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the nearby city of Ramallah and governs parts of the occupied West Bank.
But the neighborhood is on the opposite side of the separation barrier Israel built in the mid-2000s, so the Israeli police don’t go there either. “This is no man’s land,” said Mayor Raed Hamdan.
When the neighborhood council set up checkpoints to restrict movement in or out, it had to rely on local volunteers. When it ordered businesses to close and people to stay home, they refused.
Now the town has at least 21 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to Sameh Abu Rumaila, the head of a local health committee that, like everything else, is run by volunteers. The committee estimates that another 500 people in the densely populated neighborhood have been in contact with those who were infected, but is powerless to isolate them.