Kuwait City: As people rushed home on the first day of Kuwait’s 12-hour partial curfew, residents and citizens found themselves stuck on the streets as traffic surged prior to the 5:00pm curfew.
Images circulated on social media showing major highways jam-packed from around 4:00pm until 6:00pm. Several people stated online that their regular commute home was delayed by an hour or even two due to the unprecedented traffic.
Meanwhile, those that do not own a personal vehicle were forced to walk home, taking some people hours, as public transportation was overwhelmed.
While many found themselves stuck even past the curfew hour, the Ministry of Interior informed police men on the streets to be lenient with residents and citizens until 6:00pm due to the increased traffic.
Due to the spike in COVID-19 cases, the government announced last week that a partial curfew would go into force on Sunday between 5:00pm and 5:00am everyday, for a duration of one month.
Several politicians spoke out against the decision to implement a curfew and have criticized the new health measures calling them “irrational” and “random”.
Curfew rules and exemptions
Although by 5:00pm all businesses must have shut down and residents and citizens must have returned home, there are a few exceptions to the rule.
Those that are exempt from the curfew hours are supermarket and pharmacy deliveries, as well as maintenance and electric companies.
As for citizens and residents, they can apply for a two hour maximum permit for the following reasons: doctors appointment, blood donation, COVID-19 vaccine or a PCR test. Those looking to apply for a permit can submit a request via the Public Authority for Civil Information’s (PACI) website.
