Kuwait confirmed 10 new coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 235, said the Health Ministry yesterday.
In a statement to Kuwait news agency (Kuna), the ministry’s spokesperson Dr Abdullah al-Sanad said that seven cases of Kuwaiti nationals related to travel to US, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE, France, and one for a resident related to travel to Canada.
Furthermore, one case was in contact with confirmed infected people, while noting that another case for an Indian resident was under investigation.
The spokesman revealed that out of the 235 cases, 64 of them have recovered and 171 are still receiving treatment.
Kuwaiti Minister of Health Sheikh Dr Basil al-Sabah, announced yesterday morning that seven cases of the virus have been cured, bringing the total of those who have been cured to 64.
OMAN CONFIRMS 21
NEW VIRUS CASES
The Ministry of Health in the Sultanate of Oman announced the registration of 21 new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19), bringing the total number of cases to 152 cases, while the number of recovery cases reached 23, QNA reported.
All new cases are for Omani citizens, eight of which are related to contact with former patients, while eight are related to travel, while five cases are subject to epidemiological investigation, the ministry said in a statement carried by Oman’s agency ONA.
Officials in Oman yesterday said all international and domestic flights would be suspended to curb the spread of the virus.
The move takes effect today and will remain in place until further notice, Oman’s state news agency ONA reported.
The halt on air travel is the latest in a series of measures adopted in Oman as the number of cases there increases.
Other precautions include a ban on public gatherings, stopping of the printing of news publications, magazines and leaflets, and dramatically scaling back the number of people working at government institutions.
The United Arab Emirates extended yesterday to April 5 a nightly curfew to sterilise public places to combat the coronavirus, Reuters reported.
The UAE’s deep clean campaign, being implemented between 8pm and 6am each day, began on March 26 and was originally meant to end on the morning of March 29.
“We are all hoping that everybody, citizens, residents and visitors, will stay at home during this period,” Farida al-Hosani, a health ministry spokeswoman, told a news conference.
Confirmation of more infections yesterday took the total in the six Gulf states to over 3,000, with 11 deaths. The UAE has reported two deaths from the pandemic and 468 confirmed infections.
The UAE’s de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, visited a mobile coronavirus testing centre yesterday and posted on Twitter a picture of himself receiving a nasal swab while in a car.
Dubai, the region’s business and tourism hub and a major air transit centre, announced more incentives to shield its economy, which has been hit hard by global travel disruptions and the closure of most public venues in the UAE.
Among measures announced by the Dubai Free Zones Council yesterday were six-month rent waivers, cancellation of fines and permitting temporary employee contracts until the end of the year to support employment efforts, state news agency WAM said.
Saudi Arabia yesterday confirmed 99 new cases of the novel coronavirus, raising its total to 1,203, DPA reported.
Of these latest cases, 41 were recorded in Riyadh, a Health Ministry spokesman said. A lockdown is currently in place in the capital to limit the spread of the virus.
A Saudi man in Riyadh has died of Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the virus, taking the Gulf country’s death toll to four, the official added in a televised statement.
This week, Saudi Arabia imposed tighter restrictions as the oil-rich country struggles to contain the virus.
On Thursday, the authorities prohibited movement between the kingdom’s 13 regions and banned people from entering or leaving Riyadh, as well as Makkah and Madinah.
Moreover, a nationwide night-time curfew imposed earlier this week was extended by four hours in the three cities. It now begins each day at 3pm (1200 GMT) and runs through until 6am. Saudi has also suspended international and domestic flights, as well as local transport.
A security employee checks temperatures of workers before they enter the construction worksite, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), in Ahmadi, Kuwait, yesterday.
