Arrest made in quarantine breach

Chinese medical team due in Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY, April 27, (Agencies): A man who smuggled an individual out of the quarantined area of Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh has been apprehended by police, Kuwaiti authorities said on Sunday.

The search and arrest of the suspect, an Arab national, was carried out after a video was leaked on social media showing a man leading another on a motorcycle out of the area, an Interior Ministry statement read.

The suspect, who has since confessed to the charges, is employed at a cooperative society supermarket in the southern Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate. He has been referred to the public prosecutor’s office as a search is underway for the other runaway individual. The Ministry of Interior warned that it would not be dissuaded from applying the law on those caught in violation of isolation measures set by authorities in the public interest.

Three stores sealed

Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry said Monday its teams have sealed three stores for violating the preventive measures relating to combat against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Teams from the ministry have inspected 182 consumer cooperatives, shopping malls and vegetables stores to verify their commitment to the pricing rules, the ministry said in a statement, noting that seven stores were booked for violating the rules.

The teams checked the orderliness of delivery of food rations to eligible recipients at 64 rationing centers.

The emergency center of the ministry received 231 complaints via its hotline 135 and 30 complaints via the supervision centers, the statement said, adding that 127 ration cards have been renewed.

Chinese team in Kuwait

Kuwaiti Ambassador to China Sameeh Hayat said that a Chinese medical team specialized in prevention and epidemics arrived in the country Monday.

The visit comes as part of China’s efforts to extend a helping hand to other countries in a bid to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

In a statement to KUNA, Ambassador Hayat said that the team will discuss latest developments on the virus with officials of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Health.

213 new cases reported

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health announced 213 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the total of infections to 3,288, while two deaths were reported as well, bringing the total fatalities’ toll up to 22.

During a daily briefing, Health Ministry spokesperson Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad said that 64 patients were in intensive care, 30 of them are in critical condition.

Those currently receiving treatment at hospitals reached 2,254 patients said the spokesperson. Monday’s death cases were for a 53-year-old Kuwaiti male and a 54-year-old Indian male; both had been receiving treatment at ICU for more than two weeks.

The Health Minister Dr Basel Al-Sabah announced the recovery of patients 206, bringing the total to 1,012 recoveries.

Amnesty may be extended

Ministry of Interior may extend the amnesty period if there are large numbers of residency law violators seeking to take advantage of this facility, reports Al-Anba daily.

According to security sources, most of those who applied do not have valid identification documents, and others do not have any documents at all.

There are just few days before the end of the deadline granted to the violators of residency law. After opening the door for violators of all nationalities to apply for benefiting from the amnesty, thousands of people, mostly of African and Asian nationalities, rushed to the reception centers, resulting in a stampede, thereby violating the measure of social distancing imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Commander in charge of evacuation and accommodation of violators of the residency law Major General Abdeen AlAbdeen revealed that approximately 16,000 violators have applied at the reception centers as of April 26, including about 1,000 Sri Lankans.

He indicated that about 2,500 expatriates of Afghan, Pakistani and other nationalities have left for their countries, adding that there are plans to evacuate others soon.

The Chinese team specializes in the fields of prevention and control of infectious diseases, epidemiology, intensive medical treatment and DNA testing, he pointed out.

The Ambassador expressed Kuwait’s appreciation for the sincere efforts of the Chinese government in providing unlimited support to world countries, especially Kuwait, to contain and combat the pandemic and exchange experiences in the areas of control and prevention.

Repatriation 4th phase starts April 29

Kuwait’s Directorate-General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) Chairman Sheikh Salman Humoud Al-Sabah on Sunday said fourth phase of evacuating citizens from abroad would take place on April 29 and proceed until May 6.

Sheikh Salman Al-Humoud in a statement stated that the fourth phase would include Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Washington, Montreal, Sidney and Berth.

The operation will also cover a number of cities in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa where there are Kuwaiti citizens who booked electronically with international aviation companies in cooperation with Kuwaiti embassies.

KCS launches 2nd campaign

Kuwait Caricature Society (KCS) has launched its second campaign to enlighten the public about the novel coronavirus.

The society chair Mohammad Thallab said in remarks to KUNA on Sunday that he along with a number of caricaturists drew pictures emitting messages to the public to be aware of the virus and take necessary precautions against the contagion, such as keeping social distancing, be keen on cleanliness and use of sanitizers and medical masks.

Kuwait embassy flies Italian flag

The Kuwaiti diplomatic mission has raised the Italian flag marking the European country national day, as part of an Arab gesture of solidarity with the Italians in their fight against the novel coronavirus.

The Kuwait Embassy said in a statement on Sunday the symbolic gesture was part of an initiative, adopted by the council of Arab ministers in Italy for offering medical and humanitarian aid to the Italian government while it fights the contagion and its hard impact on the friendly Italian people.

The statement said Arab embassies’ buildings were adorned with the Italian flag as of April 25, demonstrating the missions’ participation in the national celebrations marking liberation of the country from the Nazi occupation.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti ambassador Sheikh Azzam Al-Sabah said the gesture constitutes a form of solidarity with Italy to affirm depth of the Arab-Italian historic and cultural bonds and as a salute to the Italian people for their will against the coronavirus as well as for sake of expressing solace with the afflicted and the medics.

MoE urged to reconsider e-learning

A group of Kuwaitis studying in the United States of America appealed to the Ministry of Higher Education to reconsider the decision on limiting the number of courses for online education during the upcoming summer semester – three courses for continuing students and four for graduate students, reports Al-Qabas daily.

One of the students, Mubarak Al-Saidi, stated that the decision might harm their educational path considering the students can enroll in six courses during the normal summer semester; but since the American universities decided to go online, the ministry reduced the number of courses to three.

Al-Saidi pointed out in telephone call with the daily that the regulations issued by the ministry under normal conditions allow the students to enroll in four courses online, but most of the students reached the limit in previous semesters since the corona epidemic emerged unexpectedly. He argued the student will not benefit from the ministry’s decision as he has no choice but to enroll in three courses only according to the new decision.

He disclosed that about 700 students signed a petition to review the decision, taking into account the corona pandemic and accreditation of international universities

for online study.

In the same context, Munira Al-Dasma – the guardian of a graduate student – stressed the graduate students are the hardest hit by this decision as they already arranged their academic schedule based on the previous decision on allowing their enrollment to six courses in a normal situation. She added limiting the number of courses to four will delay the completion of their graduate studies.