Work suspension, social distancing, airport closure, prohibition of public gatherings, closure of public parks, beaches and walking areas, shuttering of cinemas, shishas, dine-in-restaurants, coffee shops, mosques, churches, schools, public transport…
Highlighting the state of uncertainty and intense precautions being taken by Kuwait to reduce the risk and control the spread of COVID-19 infection, the Cabinet last Wednesday took the unprecedented step of suspending all work in the public and private sector for the next two weeks.
Countries around the world have been introducing various preventive measures aimed at stopping the spread and mitigating the impact of SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic. By midday on Saturday,14 March, a total of 146,299 cases of COVID-19 infections had been reported from 147 countries and territories around the world, with 5,441 people succumbing to the disease.
While the number of infections and death rates for the new virus appears to be high, it helps to put these figures in perspective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States estimates that during the 2018-2019 common influenza (flu) season, more than 35 million people in the US were sickened, around 490,000 were hospitalized, and over 34,000 people died from the infection. Remember, these numbers are just for the US.
Yes, it is true that the case fatality rate (CFR) of around 3.7 percent estimated for COVID-19 is far higher than that for the flu virus. But, the CFR for current infection is also much lower than that recorded for 2009 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses, which were 9.6 percent and 34.4 percent respectively.
The virus has also impacted the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, with the infection numbers varying. Qatar witnessed a surge in infected cases last week, to top the six-nation bloc with 320 infected cases. This was followed by Bahrain with 210 infections, and Kuwait with 104 cases. Saudi Arabia with 86 reported cases, the UAE with 85 infections, and Oman with 19, took the total GCC tally to 820 infections. Luckily, so far the virus has not claimed any lives in the region.
In Kuwait, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Anas Al-Saleh held a press conference on Wednesday to explain the exceptional measures introduced by the government. He said that the decision to temporarily close down all ministries and other public sector entities, except for emergency services, was taken following a request from the Ministry of Health, and in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.
The decision to suspend government institutions from Thursday,12 March to Thursday, 26 March, “aims at minimizing gatherings of people for two weeks, which is the incubation period for the virus,” said Al-Saleh. He added that the government was urging everyone to follow the recommendations and guidelines given by the Ministry of Health and warned that legal action would be taken against those found violating the regulatory 14-day quarantine period.
Assuaging any fears about food shortages, Al-Saleh emphasized that the country has enough food and other essential stocks to see through any emergency. Pointing out that the country was “passing through exceptional circumstances,” the minister called on everyone to remain calm and heed announcements made by the competent authorities, and not to be swayed by rumors on social media.
In the meantime, the ministries of interior and information announced that legal action would be pursued against anyone found spreading rumors related to COVID-19 infections. The ministries said they would jointly track and identify all those who spread rumors and initiate legal proceedings against them for spreading false news. “We will not tolerate those who spread rumours and they will be held accountable,” said Al-Saleh, adding that “rumors undermine the health security of the nation and causes panic among the public.”
On Wednesday Kuwait also announced that starting on Friday it would halt all commercial flights to and from the country until further notice, with the exception of cargo flights. Banks in the country have also decided to remain closed from Thursday and to reopen only on 29 March.
Clarifying the closure, Chairman of Kuwait Banking Association, Adel Al-Majed, said only one branch of every bank would be open in every governorate. He added that the customers would still be able to access the services of banks through mobile apps and online websites, and ATM machines would have enough funds to ensure the public could withdraw cash without any difficulty.
The immediate response to the government’s announcement on Wednesday was a wave of panic that sent the public rushing to cooperatives and supermarkets to buy and stockpile food and other essential goods. Though nearly a month had elapsed since the government began implementing various precautionary measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection, there had been no visible display of anxiety among the public before this. So the panic buying that began on Wednesday and then overflowed to Thursday before subsiding on Friday, had no obvious explanation.
Most probably, the hysterical buying was catalyzed by the government’s unprecedented announcement to lockdown the country. Government institutions and banks are a very visible part of public life, and the fear that public services would no longer be available, and that their money could be blocked for an extended period, may have fueled the sense of panic. Or it could have set in from a belated ‘herd-mentality’ response to the weeks of staggered precautionary measures implemented by the authorities.
Whatever the reason, it has luckily died down following repeated government assurances that essential services, including cooperatives and supermarkets, would continue to function and that the country had ample reserves of food and other essential stocks to see through any emergency. The only silver lining to the ‘herd’ response that led people to stock-up on essentials, is that at least the cooperatives and supermarkets had a good two-day business run.
Now that the panic caused by the lockdown of the country has abated, it is becoming increasingly clear that the government’s precautionary measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 are on the right track. Despite the initial unpopularity of the ban on social gatherings, the closing down of restaurants, cafes and shisha joints, as well as the shuttering of all entertainment, leisure, sporting and cultural venues, the public is coming to realize that given the very difficult circumstances, the government is implementing the right preventive measures.
With no vaccines or treatments currently available for COVID-19 infection, the WHO and health experts are also recommending ‘social distancing’ as the best defense to limit the spread of COVID-19. The term ‘social distancing’ refers to the policy of keeping people away from close contact with each other during a highly contagious disease. One reasoning behind the ‘social distancing’ policy is to ‘flatten the curve’ — slow the rate of increase in infections so that cases are spread out. When infection cases appear all at once, it tends to inundate health systems and prevent healthcare professionals from being able to respond effectively.
Even if social distancing does not change the total number of infections, it helps slow the rate at which new cases arrive in hospitals, easing the burden on health care infrastructure and improving the odds that individual patients will survive. During a pandemic, such as what COVID-19 has now become, this social distancing could mean the difference between a severe outbreak and one that is more manageable.
Available analytical evidence from China and South Korea, both of which introduced strict social distancing, show that infection rates now appear to have reduced. This further attests to the importance of social distancing in the current attempts to mitigate the spread of the virus. Kuwait deserves a loud round of applause and the continued support of the public for being the first in the region to implement many of the precautionary measures that others are now emulating.
On Friday, following the health ministry’s announcement that 20 new cases of coronavirus had been detected taking the total tally to 100 in the country, the Ministry of Awqaf ordered the shutting of all mosques and explained that during a pandemic the faithful were not necessitated to offer prayers in mosques. The ministry advised Muslims to remain at home and continue offering the five daily prayers from their residences.
Though a curfew has not been introduced, the authorities urged the public to remain at home and closed down all public spaces, including beaches, parks and playgrounds. In a press briefing, government spokesperson, Tareq Al-Mezrem, denied rumors that a curfew had been imposed on the country. “We again deny what is being circulated on social media on imposing a curfew in the country, and reiterate that the government’s decisions are announced in full transparency through the media.” He urged people to remain calm, and for the media to exhibit restraint in reporting news from unofficial and unverified sources.The government has also created a website to inform the public on the latest developments at https://corona.e.gov.kw.
Reiterating this view, the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim underlined the importance for everyone to adhere and cooperate with the precautionary measures being implemented by the state. “We are not two teams, three or more teams, we are one team today, and its name is Kuwait, which is currently led by the government with directives and instructions from the health authorities in the country,” said Al-Ghanim.
The Times Report