COVID-19: No overseas quarantine for expats in Kuwait

Cairo: Vaccinated expatriates, allowed to return to Kuwait, will no longer be required to spend 14 days in quarantine in a second transit country, a local newspaper reported.

Last week, Kuwait said that vaccinated expatriates can enter the country starting August 1, ending a months-long ban on their entry.

Al Qabas newspaper, citing government sources, said that expatriates, who have received anti-coronavirus vaccines approved in Kuwait, will only have to present a negative coronavirus test conducted 72 hours before arrival and will undergo another PCR test after spending one week in home isolation after return.

“The [domestic] quarantine can be terminated before the end of the week if the test shows a negative result,” a source said.

The sources said that the Council of Ministers will soon decide whether or not to exempt children escorting their expatriate parents of vaccination before allowing their entry into Kuwait.

The government earlier said that foreigners seeking to enter Kuwait must have received two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

Kuwait has halted issuing new visas since the start of the pandemic early last year. Authorities has also barred non-Kuwaitis from entering the country since February 7.

Prior to the travel ban, foreign residents could travel to Kuwait, but there was a ban on passengers arriving from 35 countries deemed “high risk” in spreading COVID-19.

The travel restrictions have stranded thousands of expatriates abroad.