KUWAIT: The cabinet has ordered closure of all car maintenance and spare parts shops and reduction of volunteers at consumer cooperative societies nationwide to help curb the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). In a videoconference briefing after the cabinet's extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, Government Spokesman Tareq Al-Mezrem said the cabinet has assigned the Kuwait Municipality to necessary regulatory measures to suspend work at all car maintenance workshops and car spare parts shops across the country. It also instructed the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies to stop recruitment of volunteers to help organize work at cooperative societies.

The move is meant to protect volunteers from contracting the highly contagious virus and make use of their efforts to carry out other tasks, Mezrem clarified. He added the ministry and the union were also asked to get rid of non-core workers at the consumer cooperative societies. The government will allocate special buildings for housing essential cooperative society workers after being checked up teams from the Ministry of Health, Mezrem said.

He disclosed that the cabinet has assigned the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Cooperative Societies Union and the Ministry of Education to choose two buildings in each area, one for male and the other for female core cooperative workers, he pointed out.

Mezrem also noted that the cabinet has also assigned the Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Saud Al-Harbi to take necessary measures to allow voluntary pursuing of the educational process through online and distance learning to willing students.

In a response to a question about the possibility of imposing 24 hours curfew across the country or on certain areas, he said the ministries of health and interior are studying thoroughly all curfew options as a decision in this regard "will have ramifications." But all options are on the table to guarantee safety of all citizens and residents, he concluded. - KUNA