COVID-19: Kuwait Ministry of Health calls on government to return stranded employees to country

Kuwait City: The Ministry of Health sent a list of names of stranded health professionals to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to return them to Kuwait, Al Jarida reported.

There are around 500 doctors, technicians and nurses stuck abroad, who will soon return in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Civil Aviation.

Several medical professionals and staff have been stuck out of Kuwait due to the travel ban imposed on 34 countries. Majority of the non-Kuwaiti medical staff are from banned countries like India, Pakistan and Egypt.

Medical staff from abroad

Last month, the Ministry announced that around 500 doctors and nurses from Pakistan will arrive in Kuwait in the next few weeks to assist in the intensive case, anesthesia and pulmonary diseases.

In June, 658 nurses and medical technicians from India returned to Kuwait.

The Direct of Operations at the Kuwait International Airport, Saleh Al Fadaghi, revealed that the Ministry of Health has received a proposal to allow travellers arriving from the 34 banned countries to quarantine in facilities in Kuwait instead of abroad, Al Anba reported.

Al Fadaghi said that the Minister of Health, Dr. Basel Al Sabah, is reviewing the proposal and will come to a decision.

The proposal comes after authorities realized that many expats were quarantining for 14 days in neighboring Gulf countries before coming to Kuwait.

The travel does not affect nationality, rather it is based on if a person traveled or visited a ‘high risk’ country. Nationals from the barred countries are able to enter Kuwait but are required to quarantine 14 days in a non-banned country before arriving in Kuwait.

Many travel agencies have taken advantage of the travel ban and have been selling travel packages for those willing to return to Kuwait. The package includes: flights, accommodation for 14 days in a non-banned country, visa fees and additional health fees if required by the country.

The average price for the travel package is around 300 Kuwaiti dinars per traveller.

On Monday, the Cabinet of Ministers added France, Argentina and Yemen to the list, bringing the total to 34 as Singapore was removed from the list.

Then last month, Afghanistan was added to the list bringing the total to 32 countries.

On August 1, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation announced that passengers arriving from 31 “high risk” countries are barred from entering Kuwait. The announcement was made hours after the Kuwait International Airport reopened at a 30 per cent capacity.