Kuwait set to revise COVID-19 entry ban
Authorities mull mechanism for limited re-entry of needed expats
Cairo: Kuwait’s ongoing ban on travellers from dozens of countries due to the new coronavirus pandemic will regularly be revised, according to media reports.
Earlier this week, Kuwait suspended flights from 31 “high-risk” coronavirus countries upon instructions from Kuwaiti health authorities.
See more
- Photos: Shoppers throng re-opened malls and shopping centres in Kuwait City
- Photos: Lockdown lifted in Kuwait's Mahboula
- Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Gulf War, through the pages of Gulf News
- COVID-19: How India plans repatriation of stranded citizens from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UK and rest of the world
The decision, which took immediate effect, has affected thousands of migrant workers who are now in home countries listed in the ban.
“The decision preventing citizens of 31 countries from entering Kuwait will be subjected to revise every 10 days,” Kuwaiti newspaper Al Qabas quoted government sources as saying.
“The list can be shortened or lengthened according to reports of the World Health Organisation and other international agencies,” the sources added.
The revision may include a mechanism allowing the return of limited categories of expatriates to Kuwait such as judges, medical doctors, nurses and teachers because they are needed, the sources added.
On Thursday, Kuwait’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that allowing entry of foreign experts and technicians into the country came upon a request from the government bodies and is subjected to health authorities’ approval.
Countries whose citizens are currently banned from entering Kuwait include India, Pakistan, Egypt, and the Philippines that have large communities in Kuwait.
Other countries include Iran, China, Bangladesh, Brazil, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Singapore, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Peru, Moldova, Singapore, Hong Kong, Panama, Chile and the Dominican Republic.
The travel ban was announced on Saturday hours after the Kuwait International Airport partially reopened for commercial flights after a halt of nearly five months.