KUWAIT: Any person over 65 years of age in Kuwait can receive their COVID-19 vaccine directly and without having to book for an appointment, the health ministry announced. This includes both citizens and expatriates. The ministry's spokesman Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad made that statement during a press conference on Tuesday, during which he announced that nearly 74 percent of Ministry of Education employees who have registered in the vaccination platform have already been vaccinated.

Dr Sanad also announced Tuesday that Kuwait has recorded 1,371 new coronavirus infections and 12 related deaths in the previous 24 hours. The new figures took the total cases in the country up to 259,868 and deaths to 1,468 respectively, he noted. He pointed out that some 1,360 more people had been cured of the virus during the same period, raising the total of those who have overcome the disease to 243,056.

He further added that the number of people hospitalized with the virus stood at 15,344, with 248 of them in intensive care units. Dr Sanad revealed that some 8,405 swab tests were conducted over the same period, bringing the total to 2,236,571. He renewed calls for the public to abide by health precautions to curb the spread of the virus. - KUNA