COVID-19: Stranded for over six months, Filipino nurses appeal to Kuwait to allow entry

Dubai: Stranded Filipino staff of the Kuwait Ministry of Health appealed today to the Ministry of Health (MOH) and other concerned government authorities to allow them entry to Kuwait.

The appeal comes after a total of 116 stranded Indian MOH nurses were allowed entry yesterday and had arrived in Kuwait night via a Chartered Kuwait Airways direct flight from India despite the entry ban imposed on 34 countries that included India and the Philippines.

The Kuwait government earlier banned residents coming from 34 countries with high cases of COVID-19 from flying directly to Kuwait but they can travel and stay in a country not in the ban list and stay there 14 days after which they can fly to Kuwait with the required PCR test.

The group of stranded Filipino MOH staff mostly nurses have earlier sought the help of the Philippine Embassy in July. According to them, the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait sent a letter to the MOH in July with the list of stranded MOH staff in the Philippines. However, to date, the group has been waiting for the MOH approval.

Most of the Filipino staff have been stranded for more than six months now and some of their visas have already expired. There are around 80 stranded staff including their dependents who are waiting for the travel clearance from the Kuwait Ministry of Health and other concerned authorities.

The group also asked for the assistance of Kuwait Ambassador to the Philippines Musaed Saleh Ahmad Al Thwaikh who vowed to do his best to help them by conveying their appeal to the Kuwaiti government.