A worker has his temperature checked before entering a worksite in Kuwait City. EPA
A worker has his temperature checked before entering a worksite in Kuwait City. EPA
A worker has his temperature checked before entering a worksite in Kuwait City. EPA
A worker has his temperature checked before entering a worksite in Kuwait City. EPA

Kuwaiti charities raise $30m in one day to combat coronavirus


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Charities and people in Kuwait have raised more than $30 million (Dh110.2m) in one day to support the country's government in combating the coronavirus outbreak.

The fund was launched by the Ministry of Social Affairs and 41 charities took part by donating via an online link.

On Sunday, Assistant Undersecretary for Social Development Hanaa Al Hajri estimated more than 198,200 people made a contribution.

Kuwait currently has 255 cases of coronavirus, with 67 recoveries.

The money raised will fund logistical support to health centres, quarantine facilities and to support those affected by the outbreak.

But the government denied the existence of a website on which citizens could sign up for aid.

  • A view of empty streets, in Kuwait City, Kuwait. EPA
    A view of empty streets, in Kuwait City, Kuwait. EPA
  • A police officer stops a bus so health officials could measure the body temperature of the passengers at a check point, on the Asian side of Istanbul. AP Photo
    A police officer stops a bus so health officials could measure the body temperature of the passengers at a check point, on the Asian side of Istanbul. AP Photo
  • Lebanese policemen salute government-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital workers, where most of the Lebanese coronavirus cases are treated, in support of Lebanese National Health Service workers who are treating coronavirus victims, as part of a nationwide salute to the doctors, nurses and staff in Beirut. AP Photo
    Lebanese policemen salute government-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital workers, where most of the Lebanese coronavirus cases are treated, in support of Lebanese National Health Service workers who are treating coronavirus victims, as part of a nationwide salute to the doctors, nurses and staff in Beirut. AP Photo
  • Laborers wearing protective face masks work on a street in Kuwait City. EPA
    Laborers wearing protective face masks work on a street in Kuwait City. EPA
  • A child wearing face mask walks in front of closed shops shortly before lockdown, in Cairo, Egypt. EPA
    A child wearing face mask walks in front of closed shops shortly before lockdown, in Cairo, Egypt. EPA
  • Tarek Bashasha, a 49 year-old artist, plays the clarinet to entertain people at their homes, during a countrywide lockdown in Sidon's old city, southern Lebanon. Reuters
    Tarek Bashasha, a 49 year-old artist, plays the clarinet to entertain people at their homes, during a countrywide lockdown in Sidon's old city, southern Lebanon. Reuters
  • A national flag flutters at a nearly deserted corniche, during a countrywide lockdown in the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon. Reuters
    A national flag flutters at a nearly deserted corniche, during a countrywide lockdown in the southern city of Tyre, Lebanon. Reuters
  • Egyptian security forces cordon off roads during curfew hours as prevention measures due to the coronavirus outbreak, in downtown Cairo, Egypt. AP Photo
    Egyptian security forces cordon off roads during curfew hours as prevention measures due to the coronavirus outbreak, in downtown Cairo, Egypt. AP Photo
  • Neighbours have a conversation from their balconies during a health state of emergency and home confinement orders, in Rabat, Morocco. AP Photo
    Neighbours have a conversation from their balconies during a health state of emergency and home confinement orders, in Rabat, Morocco. AP Photo
  • Armed Afghan security personnel gurads officials fumigating disinfectant in public areas in Helmand, Afghanistan. EPA
    Armed Afghan security personnel gurads officials fumigating disinfectant in public areas in Helmand, Afghanistan. EPA
  • Afghan workers build a makeshift hospital comprising of 100 beds in Herat, Afghanistan. EPA
    Afghan workers build a makeshift hospital comprising of 100 beds in Herat, Afghanistan. EPA
  • The 'Cafe des Delices' empty after the nation-wide quarantine was declared as part of measures to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic in Sidi Bou Said town, near Tunis, Tunisia. EPA
    The 'Cafe des Delices' empty after the nation-wide quarantine was declared as part of measures to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic in Sidi Bou Said town, near Tunis, Tunisia. EPA

Last week, Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Sabah instructed the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences to allocate 10 million Kuwaiti dinars (Dh117.5m) for an emergency response programme to tackle the virus.

The foundation is working with the Dasman Diabetes Institute to sequence the genome of coronavirus.

It will also offer training courses and education initiatives while schools and universities are suspended.

The institute has sequenced the genetic make-up of four samples of coronavirus, director general Dr Qais Al Duwairi told state news agency Kuna last week.

The fund-raising drive came as the country repatriated its citizens on flights from London, Tehran and Paris on Sunday.

All those brought home will be quarantined, the Kuwaiti government said.