Collateral damages of COVID-19
Other Voices
By Ali Ahmed Al-Baghli
CORONAVIRUS came to us without permission and infected whoever it could infect, while others continue to survive; all is by the grace of Almighty Allah. Our rational government adopted several serious decisions to limit its spread, for which we are thankful.
However, the collateral damages of this pandemic have exceeded the direct damages mentioned earlier, according to some people’s opinions.
Due to the pandemic, entry into Kuwait has been restricted for citizens of several countries, ships and planes. Flights to and from other countries have been suspended, and schools and universities have been closed. The economic life in Kuwait has been significantly affected after complexes and commercial markets closed their doors to employees and customers. Several hotels are also closed because many of their clients cancelled their reservations. Similar effect applies on restaurants and cafés in almost every commercial entity.
In this regard, the manager of a prestigious commercial group that runs five restaurants in Kuwait said the movement of people has become almost nonexistent recently.
The manager affirmed that their daily revenue is usually not less than KD 3,000, but since Tuesday and Wednesday last week, the business did not generate more than KD 250 because people prefer not to leave their houses due to the pandemic, and instead opt for home delivery services.
Since the announcement of the first coronavirus case in Kuwait, the situation changed in a dramatic manner due to the fear of increase in the transmission of the virus from one person to another.
Coronavirus has forced everyone, old and young, to stay at home from 5:00 pm to 4:00 am. This has led people to discover another world that they did not realize they would live in. They are bored of looking at their mobile phones; they now have time for social media, and they have memorized the free and paid television programs.
Wives’ dealings with domestic workers and children dominate the ears and eyes in the houses. Social distancing between wives and their husbands and children and viceversa is in play in accordance with the precautionary health measures that advice limiting physical contact and ensuring communication is done from a distance.
Coronavirus has led people to cancel meetings within the family and with relatives such as fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters who used to meet in the evenings at one of their houses.
Friendships have been affected too, as well as gathering in diwaniyas, cafés and chalets. People are forced to stay in their houses for longer periods and alone. Some even consume contrabands such as liquor in large quantities due to the free time at hand. Such sessions used to occur once every weekend in chalets or during events and parties.
The list of collateral damages caused by the coronavirus is long. May Almighty Allah protect us all from it, and may He rescue us from it, which will be soon by the grace of the Almighty.
KUWAIT CITY, April 1: A total of 11 centers have been designated to accommodate expatriates who are willing to benefit from the amnesty decision issued by the Ministry of Interior in favor of residency law violators.
The decision follows an enlightening meeting held by the Interior Ministry with the participation of Public Authority for Manpower and representatives of the embassies and diplomatic missions in Kuwait to find out the latest developments regarding the decision of excusing residency violators and sheltering them as a preliminary step toward their return to their home countries.
In the meeting, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Residence Affairs Major General Talal Marafi explained the mechanism adopted for residency law violators, noting they will be accommodated and given free meals at designated centers pending the completion of necessary procedures to facilitate their exit.
In his role, Deputy Director General of Labor Affairs Sector at the Public Authority for Manpower, Abdullah Al-Mutouteh, stressed that the authority is working alongside all official authorities in the state- especially the Ministry of Interior, to facilitate all procedures related to the aforementioned decision.
He called on all embassy representatives to urge their nationals to take advantage of this opportunity and services rendered by the state in this regard, such as travel tickets that will be given free of charge to violators wishing to travel during the grace period, which begins on the first day of April and ends at the end of the month.
He pointed out that the labor market is witness to great stagnation in light of the current health situation, so laws will be applied and necessary measures taken against violators after the grace period expires.
The meeting was attended by many representatives of the embassies and diplomatic missions, including the embassies of the countries of Asia, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran and Ethiopia, during which Major General Marafi and Al- Mutouteh responded to all inquiries submitted by the embassy representatives in this regard, followed by a tour of the representatives to the centers designated for expatriates violating residency laws.
The Ministry of Health is preparing to manage and operate the International Hospital to tackle the new coronavirus, reports Al-Anba daily.
The ministry said a working team that will manage the hospital is headed by the advisor of the office of the Assistant Undersecretary for Technical Affairs, Dr. Ghalib Al-Mutairi.
The members of the committee are Dr. Nuzha Al-Najjar, Dr. Ghadeer Al-Gharib, Sakina Bakhsh, Maryam Al-Ali, Abdullah Al-Shamali, Mona Ashkanani and Mubarak Al-Hadary Abdul Majeed Halawa, Dr. Majid Riyad, Khaled Al-Azmi, Fatima Al-Kanaan, Noura Al-Ali, Rod Al-Deghaim and Abdullah Al-Ramadan.