Coronavirus: Kuwait imposes 12-hour curfew from May 30, begins return to ‘normalcy’

Kuwait will impose a 12-hour curfew starting from Saturday, May 30, as the country begins to ease coronavirus restrictions, state news agency KUNA reported on Thursday.

“We are moving to a partial curfew between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.,” Minister of Interior Anas al-Saleh told an online news conference.

Visit our dedicated coronavirus site here for all the latest updates.

The government had said on Monday that it will not be extending the 24-hour curfew that was in place since May 10.

The Cabinet assigned ministers to start implementing the first phase of the plan for the gradual return to “normalcy” starting from May 31.

Kuwait also announced on Thursday, extending the holiday of the public sector until further notice, which was originally due to end on May 28. However, a specific minister or head of a government entity has the autonomy to decide to exclude some employees from the holiday and mandate that they continue working.

The government spokesman Tareq al-Mezrem said that a full lockdown will be imposed on new areas where a surge of coronavirus cases appeared, including: Hawallay, Nuqra, Maidan Hawally, Khaitan and Farwaniya.

There are 24,112 confirmed coronavirus cases in Kuwait, 8,698 recovered patients, and 185 deaths due to COVID-19 as of Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health.

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

Read more:

Coronavirus: Kuwait records 752 new recoveries, its highest daily increase yet

Kuwait will not extend 24-hour curfew

Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia to ease restrictions, restart business, return to ‘normal’