Kuwait City: A senior Kuwait health source has said the COVID-19 situation in the country is under control and there will be no curfew as long as everybody continues to adhere to the health measures, Al Rai reported.
The source pointed out that the number of positive cases is within the expected range and health authorities will continue to monitor the situation. In addition, the source pointed out that Kuwait has not undergone a second wave and that the situation has been steady since the pandemic began in March.
The percentage of positive cases to the number of swabs has been stable in the past week, more or less, at around 11.8 per cent.
Since July, Kuwait has ramped up testing and has started providing tests at private clinics for a fee.
According to statistics from ‘Our World In Data’ research centre at Oxford University, since mid-July the percentage of confirmed cases to number of swabs has been, on average, between 10 to 20 per cent.
However, a month ago Kuwait saw a spike in cases and on October 4 the percentage rose to 27 per cent.
Critical cases
Compared to the first week of October, the number of critical cases went down in the first week of November by about a half.
On October 6, there were around 142 COVID-19 cases undergoing treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). As of November 8, there are 121 COVID-19 patients in ICU. The source said the occupancy at the ICU do not exceed 30 per cent currently.
With the rise of COVID-19 cases around the world and many countries reintroducing lockdowns, Kuwait is monitoring the situation closely in hopes of avoiding a return to strict measures, the source pointed out.
Threat of curfew
Last week, the Cabinet of Ministers reviewed a plan presented by the Minister of Health, Dr Basel Al Sabah, which stipulated that if the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases were to surge in the next six to 10 weeks, the country might re-enter a partial lockdown.
The plan suggests that if the number of infections rises, then the government should implement a two-week partial curfew from 9pm to 4am, suspend commercial flights to and from Kuwait and close restaurants and malls, while only allowing delivery.
Kuwait was one of the countries that witnessed the longest consecutive curfew in the world. Between March 22 and August 30, Kuwait has been under some form of curfew, both partial and complete. The curfew hours have changed every month, more or less, as the government evaluates the health situation to ensure a safe return to normality.