KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health announced on Thursday 609 new infections with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the past 24 hours, raising the total to 34,432 cases. The ministry's spokesperson Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad said in his daily briefing that four new deaths were also recorded during the same period, raising the toll of fatalities from the virus to 279 since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. He added that some of the cases contracted the virus due to mingling, and others were being screened to determine and track the source of the contamination.

Dr Sanad said the new infection cases included 264 Kuwaiti citizens, 106 Indian nationals, 58 from Egypt, 44 from Bangladesh, and the rest hailed from various other countries. The infections according to health zones are as follows: 249 in Al-Farwaniya, 129 in Al-Ahmadi, 101 in Al-Jahraa, 81 in Hawally and 49 in Al-Assimah (the capital). There are currently 184 patients in intensive care wards and the total count of such cases stands at 10,016.

Dr Sanad said 46 patients were cured of the infectious disease and were discharged from quarantines in past 24, however, the healed were advised to sequester themselves at their houses for 14 days. He put the number of swab tests, conducted in the past 24 hours, at 2,771 noting that the whole figure of the examinations reached 327,144 since the outbreak of the communicable disease.

Earlier today, the ministry announced that up to 849 people recovered from the coronavirus in Kuwait in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recovered patients to 24,137. The patients were determined to be clear of the virus after conducting necessary medical examinations and taking standard procedures in such cases, the ministry said. -- KUNA