Coronavirus: Kuwait orders two areas into full lockdown

Kuwait’s Cabinet has decided to impose a total lockdown on some areas for the next two weeks starting on Monday, Kuwait News Agency reported.

The areas that will go into isolation will be Jeleeb Al-Shuyoukh and Mahboula areas of Kuwait city.

The partial curfew in place across the country has also been extended to six in the morning.

Kuwait will also be suspending work across all ministries and government institutions from April 12-26 as precautionary measure against coronavirus.

The Gulf country recorded 109 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 665, the Ministry of Health announced.

Kuwait has imposed strict precautionary measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak. An 11-hour nationwide curfew has been imposed, and all public gatherings have been banned.

Schools and universities have also been suspended until August, and all international flights were halted until further notice.

Kuwait last week announced measures aimed at shoring up its economy against the coronavirus pandemic, including soft long-term loans from local banks, and the central bank asked banks to ease loan repayments for companies affected, according to Reuters.

A government source told Reuters that in light of the oil price fall, passing a debt law allowing Kuwait to borrow more had become a “government priority.”

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(With inputs from Al Arabiya English's Tamara Abueish.