Coronavirus: Kuwait parliament to reconvene on June 16 with outbreak top of the agenda

Speaker says parliament's term to be extended because of disruption caused by outbreak

Vehicles drive down a highway in the Kuwaiti capital Kuwait City on May 31, 2020 after authorities eased some of the restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. AFP

The Kuwaiti parliament will reconvene on June 16 and discuss the government's response to the country's coronavirus outbreak as the first order of business, the speaker said on Monday.

Marzouq Al Ghanim said chairmen of the house committees were asked to resume meetings this week to finalise reports to be submitted for the next session. They will also ensure health measures for the session are properly implemented, the speaker said in a statement reported by the Kuwait News Agency.

Mr Al Ghanim said the first item on the agenda would be a report on the government's preparations and measures against the coronavirus.

The Parliamentary term would be extended to compensate for the suspension of sessions because of the outbreak, he said.

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Coronavirus in the Middle East

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Kuwait’s health ministry on Monday reported 719 new cases of Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, bringing the number of infections in the country to 27,762.

The new figures emerged after 3,664 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.

Eight new deaths and 1,513 recovered cases bring the total tally to 220 deaths and 12,899 recoveries.

The ministry reported that 265 of the total infected patients are Kuwaiti, 156 Indian, 104 Egyptian and 48 Bangladeshi.

The number of confirmed cases in Saudi Arabia rose by 1,881 to 87,142, with 22 more deaths taking the kingdom's Covid-19 death toll to 525.

The Saudi health ministry said the number of patients who recovered rose by 1,864 to 64,306.

Oman’s Ministry of Health confirmed 786 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday, bringing the number of infections in the country to 12,223.

Three new deaths and 286 recovered cases raised the tallies to 50 deaths and 2,682 recoveries.

Bahrain's health ministry announced 406 new infections and 387 recoveries on Monday.

Qatar reported 1,523 new infections, all among expatriate workers, raising its case total to 58,433

The death toll rose to 40 with two additional deaths since Sunday.