Kuwait has revealed a five-phase plan to return to normal life in the country, which has been brought to a standstill by the coronavirus pandemic.
Kuwait Minister of Health Dr. Sheikh Bassel Al-Sabah revealed that the plan would start on Sunday and each phase would last for three weeks, with any movement forward subject to assessment by health authorities.
“If indicators are positive we move to the next phase. If no indicators are safe in any phase, we will remain in the current phase for a longer time or go back to the previous phase,” he said.
The first phase, he explained, included partial curfew coupled with a lockdown on Farwaniya, Khaitan and Hawally areas because of a surge in cases. He said activities to resume in the first phase included home deliveries of restaurants, telecommunication companies, food retailers, companies’ transportation of employees, gas stations, private clinics and car workshops.
The second phase will see the curfew shortened to between 9pm and 6am. In this phase, said Dr Al-Sabah, workforces in government and private sectors should be less than 30 percent, in addition to the resumption of work in the construction sector, banking, malls opening for eight hours and according to special instructions; parks and pick-ups from restaurants.
Dr Al-Sabah said the third phase would see an end of curfew, and health authorities would be assessing situation of areas under lockdown. Workforces would increase to less than 50 percent and visits to social care homes would be allowed, as well as the reopening of hotels, resorts and hotel apartments. Taxis will be allowed to operate with only one passenger, and mosques would be allowed to perform Friday prayers.
Phase four, said the Minister of Health, would see an increase in workforce, restaurants would be receiving customers but with restrictions, and public transportation resumed but with distancing.
All activities would resume in phase five, government and private sector returned to normal, families could gather, weddings and graduation ceremonies could be held, health clubs and gyms could reopen, as well as cinemas and theatres.
However, he warned that the success of the plan depended heavily on the public and compliance with health instructions surrounding social distancing, hand washing and staying at home.
He said: “Failure to comply with these instructions could cause a setback and we go back to the previous step.”
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