KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Cabinet approved setting up health ministry laboratory testing facilities at air and land ports. The endeavor, which includes Kuwait International Airport and the new airport, will be administered in joint coordination among the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Public Works and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The government also decided to equip and prepare both Seashell Julaia Hotel and Resort and Al-Joan Resort as quarantine facilities for people who have begun to recover from the virus.

This came during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting on Monday chaired by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah via teleconference. His Highness the Prime Minister briefed the Cabinet on talks, describing them as “positive,” which he had attended with the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem and the Supreme Judicial Council Chairman Yusuf Al-Muttawa regarding the government’s coronavirus measures.

Health situation

Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah then outlined the health situation in the country, including data and statistics related to COVID-19 cases, recoveries and fatalities. He also highlighted precautionary measures taken by the Ministry of Health to reduce the spread of the virus, including the full lockdown described as having produced “positive indicators.” The Cabinet expressed gratitude and appreciation for the commitment of nationals and residents alike to these measures.

Ministers also reviewed the most recent steps on the matter, namely the first stage of the plan to regain normality post-coronavirus, the partial curfew and the full lockdown still imposed on several areas. The public were urged to adhere to social distancing rules and to cover both the nose and mouth, working together as a team to prevent the spread of the virus in preparation for the transition to the next stage of the plan to return to normal life.

OPEC+ meeting

Separately, Minister of Oil and Minister of Electricity and Water Dr Khaled Al-Fadhel briefed the ministers on his attendance of teleconferenced talks with OPEC+ nations, during which the oil producers agreed to maintain current output levels through July. The Cabinet also reviewed lawmaker Riyadh Al-Adsani’s application for a five-axis grilling of the Minister of Finance Barrak Al-Sheetan, which will be on the agenda of the upcoming National Assembly session. The Cabinet underlined its acknowledgement that interpellations are a right guaranteed by the Constitution to every member of the National Assembly.

On regional and global affairs, the Cabinet expressed Kuwait’s welcoming of the Libyan ceasefire initiative, launched by Egypt’s President Abdelfattah Al-Sisi, in line with its support for the United Nations initiative on the matter, last March, calling for a ceasefire in all conflict areas amid efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19. The Kuwaiti ministers expressed hope the recent initiative would contribute to initiating a political solution in a manner that preserves the unity and independence of Libya. — KUNA