By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The Cabinet yesterday slightly eased the nightly curfew to 11 hours and exempted vaccinated travelers from institutional quarantine. In a statement following its weekly meeting, the Cabinet said the nightly curfew imposed two weeks ago to curb a spike in coronavirus cases will now extend from 6 pm to 5 am the next day, instead of 12 hours. The new decision is effective from today.

The Cabinet also allowed deliveries by restaurants and cafes to continue until 10 pm and allowed walking from 6 pm to 8 pm daily, provided people remain in their areas and do not use vehicles. The Cabinet also replaced hotel quarantine with home quarantine for travelers who have been vaccinated.

Travelers who have taken two doses of the vaccine at least two weeks ago or those who took just one dose five weeks ago will be asked to spend only seven days in home quarantine. The same applies to people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have taken one vaccine dose two weeks ago. All the three categories must undergo a coronavirus test on the seventh day of the quarantine and produce a negative result.

Students studying abroad only need to produce a certificate from their universities to be exempted from hotel quarantine, the Cabinet said. Expats who have valid residencies in Kuwait continue to be barred from entering the country since a ban was placed on Feb 7. Only foreign diplomats and medical staff and their families are exempted from the ban. MP Khaled Al-Otaibi called on the government to abolish hotel quarantine altogether and accused authorities of introducing it to benefit merchants at the cost of people.

Meanwhile, the government yesterday sent a draft law proposing financial support for small and big businessmen affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The bill stipulates that local banks will provide loans at reduced interest to businessmen harmed by the pandemic, provided the loans are used to support the companies’ operations like payment of salaries.

The loans must be repaid in easy installments over seven years for small businesses and four years for big merchants, while the government will bear part of the interest on the loans. The Assembly’s legal and legislative committee meanwhile approved a draft law to delay the repayment of loans for six months, while the financial and economic affairs panel approved a series of bills calling to aid small and medium businesses harmed by the coronavirus.

Source: KuwaitTimes

KUWAIT: US Ambassador to Kuwait Alina L Romanowski visited the Kuwait Oil Company’s (KOC) Al-Abdaliya Nature Reserve on Thursday, and was welcomed by KOC’s Public Relations and Information Group Manager Mohammed Al-Basri. The Ambassador’s visit comes as part of the United States’ wider efforts to cooperate with countries around the world in addressing various environmental and climate change issues.

“The US is engaging with partners around the world to ask: how can we all do more?” Ambassador Romanowski said. “The threats to our environment are real, and I’m looking forward to working with more agencies in Kuwait on joint collaboration activities.” “KOC is making all possible efforts to preserve the environment in Kuwait,” said Basri. “These efforts, which have been ongoing for decades, have been strengthened recently thanks to the many partnerships we have entered into, most notably the Global Partnership with the World Bank.”

Located 50 kilometers west of Kuwait City, the protected area aims to preserve Kuwait’s native ecosystem and restore life and biodiversity to the desert. During her tour, Ambassador Romanowski learned about the environmental protection efforts at the reserve. “The Al-Abdaliya Nature reserve is one of several operated by KOC to support environmental sustainability,” Ambassador Romanowski said. “The US Embassy will continue to support Kuwait in these endeavors by sharing American expertise and best practices on environmental policy, sustainability, climate change, and more.”

“The Abdaliya reserve project is part of KOC’s wider objectives to transform the area into one distinguished by its biological diversity and that contributes to enhancing Kuwait’s environment,” Basri added. Earlier this year, Ambassador Romanowski joined Kuwait Environment Public Authority Director Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah for a visit to the Al-Jahra Nature Reserve. Last September, Ambassador Romanowski also participated in a World Cleanup Day event sponsored by Alnowair at Jahra Sanctuary in Al-Khuwaisat to help raise awareness of environmental protection.

The US Embassy in Kuwait organized several initiatives in the last few years to increase awareness about environmental protection and climate change. Several air quality speakers visited Kuwait through the State Department’s US Speakers Program to highlight issues related to air pollution. The embassy also engaged with local schools to organize recycling drives and promoted the large-scale Our Ocean Conference in Kuwait, an initiative spearheaded by former US Secretary of State John Kerry.

KUWAIT: The Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) closed down a chicken farm in Wafra after culling birds infected with avian flu, Al-Jarida Arabic daily reported yesterday, quoting sources. According to the sources, 300,000 egg-laying birds were destroyed and the farm will remain closed as a precautionary measure for three months or until the temperature rise, which will eradicate the disease.

They said teams are continuing their inspection of the area surrounding the farm and taking random samples to make sure the area is completely free of bird flu, adding that all swabs taken in the past days show that infection did not reach the surrounding farms or employees there. As for compensating the affected farm, sources said PAAAFR will discuss the matter after inspections are complete to determine whether farm owners deserve compensation or the cases were due to negligence, adding the number of cases is not small.

Source: Kuwait Times

KUWAIT: Kuwait Fire Force said investigations in a fire at a Souq Mubarakiya mill on Wednesday evening showed it was set deliberately, and the interior ministry was informed accordingly. The force said the fire investigations unit works round the clock with experienced personnel who are equipped with all the necessary equipment to determine the causes of the fire.

Meanwhile, the interior ministry said following a review of the security tapes, a person was seen in the basement for more than three hours, and after he left, the fire started. Capital governorate detectives were able to determine the suspect’s identity – an Asian who works at the mill, and found KD 9,000 at his residence. He said he noticed the safe was open before the other employees left, so he hid in the basement, took the money and started the fire. The suspect was sent to concerned authorities.

Source: Kuwait Times

 Kuwait Vaccination Center’s hall number 6. – KUNA photos

KUWAIT: People continue to show up in droves to vaccination sites across Kuwait, all of them with online appointments, with the common belief that getting their COVID-19 shots is the only way to overcome a raging pandemic.

Health workers and interior ministry personnel are on hand to maintain order at these designated centers, as Kuwaitis and expatriates alike, undeterred by a 12-hour lockdown to rein in spiraling infections rates, rush to get vaccinated. – KUNA