The Kuwait government has announced to extend the partial curfew in effect by another two hours. This means that all residents and citizens are expected to remain home between 5:00 pm and 6:00 am. Alongside this announcement, the government has also imposed a lockdown on the Mahboula and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, the Minister of Interior announced.
According to Anas Al-Saleh, Deputy Premier and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, the extension of the curfew would take effect on Monday (April 6).
Curfew Hours Extended, Two New Areas Placed on Lockdown
According to Al-Saleh, the government thought it best to employ a gradual extension of the curfew to allow people to only leave their houses when necessary, as shared in a report by KUNA.
Along with this decision, the government has also placed the areas of Mahboula and Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh for two weeks.
Al-Saleh added that the lockdown would enable health workers to carry out tests for residents of the identified areas to ensure their well-being and the general public, as well, for that matter.
In line with this, Al-Saleh thanked the citizens and expatriates for displaying responsible compliance with health authorities’ instructions, which were aimed at preserving their safety.
For his part, Kuwait’s Health minister Sheikh Dr. Bassel Al-Sabah acknowledged that health authorities were already in the process of containing and tracing the source/s of the virus, as well as attending to sick patients.
Dr. Bassel continued to urge residents to wash their hands, stay indoors, avoid gatherings, and to observe social distancing.
He also pointed out that efforts to repatriate Kuwaiti citizens are undergoing constant review in response to the current situation in the countries where they will be coming from and also in Kuwait.
With this, the health minister urged all people to remain patient for the sake of public safety so that “hopefully everyone will be reunited with their loved ones.” The ministry is constantly coordinating with the World Health Organization, from which they base their community measures employed for the entire State.
Meanwhile, in other related news, The Kuwait Times reported that harsh punishments which include deportation shall be enforced by the Kuwaiti government against expatriates who fail to observe the newly imposed curfew guidelines set by the government.
In line with this, Kuwait’s Interior Ministry urged people to seek special permits online to be able to leave their homes during the curfew period.
According to Nasser Buslaib, the head of the ministry’s security media department, citizens caught violating the curfew will be referred to proper authorities for investigation, while expats could face deportation.
As of this writing, nearly 200 people have already been arrested so far in violation of the curfew hours.
The Kuwaiti government is regularly updating and monitoring the regulations it has set to curb the spread of the coronavirus within communities, so it’s important for all residents, both citizens, and expats, to adhere to these regulations to help the government fight the progression of the disease within communities and to prevent more deaths from taking place due to the pandemic.
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