Kuwaiti government green lights visas for all

Cairo: The Kuwaiti government has approved recommendations to ease coronavirus-related restrictions including the resumption of issuing visas for people from all countries, local media reported.

During a meeting on Monday, the Council of ministers also agreed to reoperate the Kuwait airport at full capacity.

The government also okayed scrapping mandatory wearing of face masks in outdoor places and distancing inside mosques, Al Rai newspaper reported, citing what it termed as well-informed sources.

It, moreover, approved a recommendation on allowing holding seminars and wedding ceremonies. No specific date has been given for starting implementation of the new measures.

The reported relaxation comes due to a stable epidemiological situation in the country that has recently seen an unprecedented decline in coronavirus-related deaths, infections and occupancy rates at intensive care units.

Earlier this month, a ministerial committee in charge of tackling COVID-19 in Kuwait agreed on offering facilities for activities related to farms, restaurants, catering, bakeries, fishing, cattle and poultry breeding, dairy production, food marketing and water bottling firms.

Kuwait is experiencing labour shortages in some professions as a result of restrictions prompted by the global pandemic and the departure of many foreign workers from the country as a result of economic fallout.

After a seven-month ban, as of August 1, Kuwait has allowed the entry of expatriates as long as they have received two doses of an approved vaccine. They are the Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

Passengers who have taken two doses of Sinopharm, Sinovac and Sputnik vaccines can only enter the country if they take a third dose of one of the vaccines recognised by Kuwait.