KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has instructed Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) to allocate KD 10 million ($30.3 million) for an emergency response program to mitigate coronavirus fallout, KFAS said Thursday. The move is meant to back up the great efforts of the government to rein in the spread of the novel coronavirus, known as (COVID-19) worldwide, KFAS said in a press statement.

The emergency response program against the globally spreading disease encompasses the realms of public health and education, it added. The anti-COVID-19 endeavor aims at supporting the KFAS-affiliated Desman Diabetes Institute's technique to sequence the genome of the coronavirus, study receptors for high risks of infections with the virus and design highly precise diagnoses, it elaborated.

It is also intended to offer relevant training courses to doctors and health care providers directly connected with buttressing field effectiveness and response to contagious diseases, according to the statement. As for education, the aforementioned program mainly targets a tentative online education initiative purposed to continue learning during the class suspension period, it added.

Global coordination
Separately, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received on Friday a telephone call from Tunisian President Qais Saied discussing the solid bilateral ties between the two countries and repercussions of the coronavirus. His Highness the Amir and the Tunisian president noted during the phone conversation that all international stakeholders should join hands to contain the pandemic and prevent it from spreading.

The Tunisian president wished His Highness the Amir lifelong wellness. In turn, His Highness the Amir expressed appreciation for the brotherly communication that depicted deep-rooted bilateral relations, wishing the president lasting good health.

New package
In other news, the Kuwaiti Cabinet on Thursday adopted a fresh package asking the Kuwait Supply Company to answer all food needs. The Cabinet also directed paying one month's salary to all students overseas. The remarks were given by Government Spokesman Tareq Al-Mezrem during a press conference at Seif Palace following an extraordinary Cabinet meeting on state response to novel coronavirus.

As per the latest edicts, the Kuwait Supply Company would provide the local market with all food staples to be determined by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, while countrywide taxi services would be suspended, Mezrem noted. In addition, all overseas' students, whether they have state scholarships or not, would be given one month's salary, the spokesman said.

This move in particular is intended to ease out the difficult conditions of Kuwaiti students abroad and to mitigate the reflections of the novel coronavirus, he added. Finally, the cabinet decided to halt attendance for all press conferences and briefings but to use the video-conferencing system instead in order to observe rules on social distancing to curb the outbreak. - KUNA