COVID-19: Spike in Kuwait cases not due to Indian strain

Kuwait City: Despite the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases in the past week, the Ministry of Health has reaffirmed to the public that the Indian strain has not yet been detected in Kuwait, local media reported.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health stated that they came to the conclusion after conducting an in-depth laboratory review.

Kuwait has continued to suspend all flights between India and Kuwait which has been in effect since April 24 after India witnessed a surge in COVID-19 cases and was battling a new mutant strain.

In the past week, Kuwait has recorded a spike in COVID-19 cases with the total number of cases surging to 1,709 on Thursday, the highest number of cases recorded since the beginning of March.

As for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) occupancy rate, there has been a slight increase in patients in the past two weeks.

Due to the rise in cases, the Ministry of Interior released a statement on Friday urging all citizens and residents to continue to follow the health measures and to stay away from large gatherings.