‘Health officials warn against return of normal life sans medical preparations’

‘Adequate medical supplies, equipment not available’

KUWAIT CITY, May 26: Raising concerns about the state’s readiness to gradually return to normal life, officials from Ministry of Health (who requested anonymity for fear of political accountability) warned of the collapse of the health system in the country and its consequences if the total lockdown is lifted and normal life gradually returns, especially with the disruption in the import of some major health supplies, reports Al-Qabas daily.

These officials asked the pertinent question - How will normal life return without the availability of adequate medical supplies and equipment, especially since orders for those supplies have been frozen due to public pressure recently exerted on the State Audit Bureau to suspend Ministry of Health’s contracts?

They indicated that Kuwait needs more than 200 million masks per month at the very least, besides the medical staff medical staff’s need for it, in order for life to return to normal, asking, “How will the market cover this quantity as it is suffering from scarcity?”

They stressed that the demand for masks is expected to increase by 25 times with the return of normal life, especially with the implementation of Ministry of Health’s decision to compel everyone to wear masks in public places.

Meanwhile, officials of Ministry of Health and medical teams criticized the government for its reluctance and inability to continuously face political pressures and defend its medical personnel, despite the clear and transparent measures taken by health authorities in light of the global crisis that has rattled all areas.

In a related development, parliamentary sources said they consider those who made the claim that public oversight has resulted in the freezing of health contracts for the procurement of medical equipment as being skeptic about the state’s regulatory apparatus, as if it does not play its required role except through public pressure.

The sources held the government responsible for yielding to populist pressure, and waiting for public reactions to its decisions, knowing that the coronavirus crisis is global and everyone is going through it.

They asked, “Why did the government wait for public reactions in order to remind its keenness about the public money? Why isn’t there continuous clarity, accuracy and transparency in detecting contracts instead of creating suspicions and holding the people responsible for monitoring? And why is there confusion, hesitation and the need to always put things in circles of mystery? Why didn’t the government have the nerve to defend its medical teams, instead of engaging them in political debates, and endangering the country’s health system by disrupting health orders, which in turn could disrupt plans to return to normalcy?”