Kuwait to ease Covid-19 restrictions and resume some flights

Country to resume direct flights with Morocco and the Maldives

Kuwait will allow direct flights to Morocco and the Maldives starting August 1. Gustavo Ferrari / The National

The Kuwaiti Cabinet has cancelled its decision to close commercial activities at 8pm, starting Tuesday. The country will also lift a number of Covid-19 restrictions involving commercial activities and flights.

Kuwait will allow direct flights to Morocco and the Maldives starting August 1, the head of the governmental communication centre and spokesman for the Cabinet, Tareq Al Mezrem, said.

Kuwait will also open all activities, except for gatherings which include conferences, weddings and social events, and will also open special activities for children, starting from September 1, Mr Al Mezrem said. Only those vaccinated can take part.

People who are not vaccinated are allowed to visit government buildings, hospitals, private medical centres, pharmacies, consumer co-operative societies, and food and catering outlets, starting from August 1, the Cabinet added.

The Ministry of Education also confirmed they are prepared for the school year to begin in September and are reviewing a wide range of new procedures that would allow students to return to classrooms full time, while ensuring their safety.

Schools will follow health ministry guidelines and implement Covid-19 safety measures to protect students and staff from the virus.

Kuwait reported its highest number of daily Covid-19 cases on July 6, with 1,993 new infections, but in recent weeks cases have been declining.

On Monday, Kuwait's Ministry of Health reported 988 new cases and nine deaths.

Earlier this month, the country began direct flights with the UK, the US, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland, Kyrgyzstan, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A business owner carries a placard that reads 'No closure without compensation' during a protest in Kuwait City against the closure of salons and health clubs in Kuwait as a measure to stem the spread of the coronavirus. EPA

Business owners display placards during an anti-closures protest in Kuwait City. The Kuwaiti government stopped non-Kuwaitis entering the country for two weeks starting from February 7 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. EPA

This Kuwaiti demonstrator's placard reads 'Closure ends in bankruptcy and jail'. All businesses, including malls, must close between the hours of 8pm and 5am. EPA

'Just as we have a duty towards you, you have a duty towards us' reads this business owner's placard displayed at a Kuwait City protest against the closure of small businesses as an anti-coronavirus measure. EPA

'Why should we, the innocent, bear the burden of your mismanagement of the crisis?' asks an owner at the protest against the closure of businesses in an effort to tackle Covid-19. EPA

A business owner in Kuwait City with a placard reading 'Closure ends in bankruptcy and jail'. The Kuwaiti government is being urged to rethink its closure of salons and health clubs to contain the spread of the coronavirus. EPA