* Four new coronavirus cases as two more cases cured
* No decision on ending school year
* MoI denies death of inmate due to COVID-19
By B Izzak
KUWAIT: The government yesterday again denied any plans tosend expatriates to their home countries after a lawmaker called for "lettingexpats out” to reduce pressure on medical services.
Minister of Social Affairs and Labour Mariam Al-Aqeelreiterated that the government has not received any request from any country torepatriate their communities from Kuwait.
MP Hamdan Al-Azemi called on the council of ministers toresume outbound flights from Kuwait for one week to allow any expatriateswilling to do so to leave the country.
Azemi said that it's better if each country takes care ofits own citizens during this crisis, adding that Kuwait now needs to see healthand food pressures reduced.
The government had resisted calls by some MPs and activiststo reduce the number of expatriates in the country in order to reduce thehealth burden in case the coronavirus spreads.
The ministry of health yesterday reported four newcoronavirus cases, bringing the total to 104, of whom seven have already beencured after two more cases were cured yesterday.
The new cases are of an Indian man who came in contact withan Egyptian man who tested positive a few days ago after returning fromAzerbaijan via Dubai, two cases of two Kuwaiti men returning from Britain andthe fourth of a Kuwaiti woman returning from a trip to France and Qatar.
Of the 97 cases, six are in the intensive care unit whilethe rest are in stable condition.
The ministry of health's testing centers for expatriatesreturning from Egypt, Syria and Lebanon yesterday made some amendments. Theyfirst extended for another day (Sunday) for such expatriates from Farwaniyagovernorate who were supposed to have finished tests yesterday, and they arenow testing people who returned only from March 1 onwards and not from February27. The center is at the international fairgrounds in Mishref.
In the meantime, the ministry of education held a top-levelmeeting yesterday and discussed whether to end the school year now in light ofthe coronavirus pandemic. But no decision was reached and the matter wasreferred to the council of ministers.
Kuwait on Friday cancelled Friday noon prayers and thenordered all mosques to be shut down for the first time in a bid to preventgatherings that could facilitate the spread of the disease.
The measure was taken after the health minister said thatthey were testing some people who came from countries 10 days ago that were notinfected and now they have become infected.
Kuwait had also declared a public holiday for two weeks andcancelled all commercial flights.
The interior ministrydenied that an inmate had died because of the coronavirus.