KUWAIT: Local charities spent KD 2.7 million ($9 million) as of Friday, the Ministry of Social Affairs said, noting that this came within the framework of the national campaign to collect money for the needy and personnel working in the shadow of the coronavirus crisis.

The 'Fazaat Al-Kuwait' campaign, involving 41 ministry-accredited societies and charities, has raised KD 9.1 million ($30 million) contributed by 198,227 donors, the ministry said in a report released on Saturday. The contributions included 150,217 meals for workers at state ministries, at quarantines and border exits.

They also covered 14,400 beneficiaries at 32 schools that have been equipped and transformed into quarantines. Some of the funds will be disbursed for aiding individuals and families afflicted with the coronavirus crisis and workers who can no longer earn their bread due to the extraordinary circumstances caused by the pandemic. 'Fazaa' is an old Arabic term where people scramble to aid each other in crises, dangers and catastrophes. - KUNA