20200521_Kuwait
Ministry of education logo Image Credit: Social Media

Cairo: Schools used as makeshift facilities by cooperatives in Kuwait during the COVID-19 crisis, will be handed back to the Education Ministry beginning July 15, an official was quoted as saying Thursday.

Last March, the Kuwaiti government extended suspension of classes in all educational institutions until August as part of precautions to battle the novel coronavirus.

Nearly 370 schools across Kuwait have since been used by various governmental bodies to house their employees.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs Abdel Aziz Al Shueib said that in coordination with the Education Ministry and the Union of Consumer Co-operative Societies, July 15 has been set as a date for handing back the schools being used by the co-operatives.

He added in media remarks that the Ministry of Social Affairs had asked the Union of Consumer Co-operative Societies to draw up a plan for providing alternative shelters for workers and warehouses currently using schools so as to hand back the buildings to the Education Ministry.

Last month, Kuwait enforced a 20-day complete curfew to contain the coronavirus that has resulted so far in 34,432 infections and 279 deaths in the country. Late in May, Kuwait shifted to a nighttime curfew as part of a gradual plan to return to normal life.