With the five-month-long curfew drawing to a close at the end of August and the country set to return to normal working hours there is fear among the authorities and healthcare professionals that citizens and residents could abandon all health precautions, leading to relapse in the spread of coronavirus in the country.
The decision by the Council of Ministers to end the curfew in all areas of Kuwait from Tuesday, 1 September, had stressed that all precautionary measures taken to contain the spread of virus should be maintained even after the end of curfew, including social distancing, the wearing of masks and the use of sterilizers and handwashes in public areas.
The government has been bringing the curfew to an end in a well-coordinated and phased manner through a partial lifting of curfew in select areas and economic sectors before moving to more areas and sectors of the economy. The decision to lift the curfew from the entire country will be a big challenge and a significant test of the ability of authorities to implement the required balance between health security and security of the economy.
Once the curfew is lifted completely, working hours will be restored enabling businesses and industries in all sectors of the economy, including restaurants, retail stores, malls and shopping complexes to once again operate in full-swing. People, especially night-shift crew would also be able to move about freely at any time and to any place without being hindered by curfew times and containment zones.
The authorities have put in place a number of precautionary health measures that must be followed and adhered to by the government entities and private institutions. These measures would have to be implemented and adhered to in the post-curfew situation in order to preserve the health and safety of the visitors of its facilities, buildings and affiliated bodies.
A health precaution review committee has discussed with the Kuwait Municipality about regulating working hours in the first week of lifting the curfew to the same as that during the fourth-phase of lifting of curfew. The exception would be for cooperative societies, markets, food shopping centers and groceries in commercial areas, which would be allowed to operate for 24 hours to meet the needs of the population. Other activities would be allowed to operate 24 hours in a gradual manner during the second-week of lifting of the curfew.
There is also a suggestion to limit times for specific activities and allow them to operate 24-hours only in a gradual manner. As per this suggestion the number of opening hours for commercial complexes will first be from 9am until 10pm; restaurants and cafes from 5am till 11pm; laundries, washing and ironing from 7am till 11pm and salons from 9am to 11pm. These timings would be gradually eased before allowing them to operate as they did before the pandemic.
Regarding the mechanism of work in government agencies following the lifting of curfew, the review committee said that if the government agencies need to increase the number of workers, it can summon a small percentage of the employees as long as the employee percentage in a department does not exceed 75 percent of total employees, excluding those exempted by the Civil Service Commission such as chronic disease patients, pregnant and lactating women, and other special cases.
The committee also stressed that no visitors to government agencies would be entertained without a specific prior online appointment. Government entities have also been asked to ensure that sterilizers are provided in the workplace and not to receive any employee or visitor who does not wear a mask. In addition, the building, furniture and equipment would need to be cleaned and disinfected at least once a day.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Interior has announced that it has prepared a detailed plan for dealing with the country-wide lifting of curfew. Security authorities will be deployed in complexes and commercial markets at fixed security points and foot patrols will monitor the changing situation in order to rapidly deal with any gathering or congestion within the complexes in violation of social distancing norms.
In addition, security personnel from the ministry would conduct random inspections of illegal food markets in areas where bachelors live and arrest those that engage in unauthorized gatherings and violations of the law. The ministry warned that any breaking of the law regarding gatherings will be dealt with immediately, whether in diwaniyas or public squares, or in holding wedding parties or mourning.
The ministry has requested citizens and expats to show a sense of responsibility in order to preserve the health, safety and lives of everyone.
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