By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Health Minister Sheikh Basel Al-Sabah yesterday urged the public to comply with strict health conditions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and warned that authorities could impose fresh restrictions. The minister's warning came on the day the health ministry recorded a jump in the number of new COVID-19 cases, reporting 900 infections and one death.

"Let's cooperate to reduce the number of infections by complying with health conditions to ensure the continuity of opening without the need to go back to square one," the minister wrote on his Twitter account yesterday. Authorities yesterday allowed the resumption of massage services and the reopening of prayer rooms in malls, provided there is total adherence to health conditions.

The new cases yesterday raised the tally of registered infections since the outbreak of the pandemic to 87,378, and deaths increased to 536, Ministry of Health Spokesman Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad told KUNA. The figures include people who came into contact with infected individuals, and others whose source of infection is currently being investigated, he said. In terms of health zones, 229 cases were registered in Hawally, 201 in Farwaniya, 178 in the Capital, 175 in Ahmadi and 117 in Jahra, he explained.

Sanad said 90 patients are in the intensive care units, with a total of 8,094 people receiving medical treatment. He said healthcare workers conducted 5,441 swab tests in the past 24 hours, with total tests reaching 631,482. He reiterated the need to abide by health instructions like physical distancing, which is the only way to keep the virus at bay. Earlier, the ministry said 582 people have recovered from the virus, taking the total number of those to have overcome the disease to 78,791.