Health authorities in Kuwait are monitoring the situation in areas under lockdown and lifting the restrictions on these areas depend on the levels of infections and spread of coronavirus, government spokesman said Monday.
“The health authorities are working on controlling the spread of the pandemic in areas under lockdown to bring the infections to acceptable levels,” Tareq Al-Mezrem told an online news conference following a cabinet meeting, chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.
Ending the lockdown, he added, depends on the “level of spread of the pandemic, rate of infections, intensity and hotspots of the virus.” The government decided, during its meeting last Thursday, to impose a lockdown on Hawally and Nuqra areas, as well as large parts of Khaitan and Farwaniya areas, because of the high numbers of coronavirus cases. The government also introduced a five-phase plan to ease restrictions imposed by pandemic.
The plan started May 31 and every phase lasts for three weeks. Moving to the next phase depends on health situation and compliance of people with health instructions. Al-Mezrem was asked about operation of Kuwait International Airport, and said the “return of the airport for operation will be part of the phases,” and it depended on approval of the health authorities and blessing of the government.
Al-Mezrem urged the public to comply with health instructions, including physical distancing. “We have not returned to normal life and the pandemic remains able to spread. “Failure to abide by the instructions will take us back to previous phases. We should not exhaust the health authorities and to maintain the health system in the State of Kuwait in order to preserve public health,” said Al-Mezrem.