By B Izzak

KUWAIT: The health ministry yesterday registered 798 COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour period, taking the total number of infections to 177,701, while five fatalities were recorded, raising the death toll to 1,003. Active cases amounted to 10,679 with 133 patients in intensive care units, Spokesman Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad told KUNA during the ministry's 104th regular press conference.

Health authorities conducted 7,514 swab tests to take the total to 1,667,920, which means 10.6 percent of swab tests performed in the past 24 hours were positive, Sanad revealed. He urged everyone in Kuwait to adhere to precautionary measures against the virus and maintain social distancing. Earlier, the ministry confirmed 765 new recovery cases, taking total recoveries to 166,019.

Meanwhile, the caretaker government has agreed to attend a special National Assembly session to debate measures to face the coronavirus pandemic and procedures to rebalance the population structure. Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said he was informed by HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, who is still forming the new Cabinet, that the outgoing government will attend the special session called by MPs.

MP Osama Al-Munawer and a group of lawmakers submitted a motion last week to hold a special session to debate the new strain of the coronavirus and recent government closures, in addition to the population structure. Ghanem said he has invited MPs and the government to convene the session tomorrow and asked MPs to take a coronavirus test to be allowed to attend the session.

But a number of leading opposition MPs said they will not sit with a caretaker Cabinet and announced they will boycott the session. Other MPs called on the prime minister to speed up the formation of the new Cabinet. MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandari strongly criticized the prime minister for accepting to attend a special session while boycotting regular sessions, saying this is a reconfirmation that the Assembly should not cooperate with the premier. He said that he will not attend the session unless the new Cabinet is formed. A similar position was expressed by MPs Saud Al-Mutairi, Hamdan Al-Azemi, Fares Al-Otaibi and Mohammad Al-Mutair.

Two lawmakers also called on the government to review its decision on forcing arrivals to be placed in institutional quarantine for seven days at their cost. MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri said this decision is not acceptable, and if it is imposed, the health minister will be held responsible. MP Mohammad Al-Rasheedi also called on the government to withdraw the decision, especially for students, because airfares have become too expensive.