COVID-19: Kuwait’s cafe owners want shisha ban removed
Coffee shops, restaurants to reopen Sunday amid strict health precautions
Cairo: Owners of coffee shops in Kuwait staged a protest demanding an end to a ban on serving shisha as part of measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, according to local media.
Earlier this week, the Kuwaiti government agreed to the reopening of cafes and restaurants in the country starting from next Sunday as part of a plan for gradual return to normal life.
Protesters, gathering at the Health Ministry on Thursday, argued that around 6,700 coffee shops in Kuwait have incurred over KD1 billion in losses over the past 13 months as a result of the anti-virus curbs.
They added that it will be of no good for them to reopen their businesses without allowing the shisha service.
Beginning Sunday, cafes and restaurants will be allowed to accept customers daily from 5am till 8pm, according to a Kuwaiti municipal official. In the following hours, their services will be limited to outdoor services.
Health precautions
As part of health precautions to be applied with the business resumption, cafes and restaurants are required to observe e-payment methods instead of cash, and subject their workers to screening at least once every day, added head of the Kuwait Municipality Ahmed Al Manfuhi.
These businesses are also required to check customers’ temperatures at their entrances and keep a distance of at least two metres between tables.
On May 13, Kuwait lifted a partial health curfew that lasted more than two months to limit the COVID-19.