KUWAIT: Kuwait's Ministry of Health (MoH) registered yesterday 979 additional COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour span, increasing the total number of infections to 181,484, while eight fatalities were recorded, raising the death toll to 1,027. Plus, 986 fresh recovery cases were added to a total of 169,406 cured people, MoH's Spokesman Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad said during the 108th regular press conference.

Active cases amounted to 11,051 with 153 of them in intensive care units (ICU) as of yesterday, the ministry confirmed. Health authorities conducted 10,622 swab tests to a total of 1,708,081, he revealed. Dr Sanad urged everyone in Kuwait to comply with the precautionary measures against the virus and maintain social distancing. He recommends that everyone should visit MoH's official accounts and official authorities in the country to view the instructions, recommendations, and everything that would contribute to help fight the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Assistant undersecretary for medicine affairs in the Ministry of Health Abdullah Al-Bader said the fifth batch of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine will arrive on Sunday. The ministry is closely monitoring safety of taking the vaccine, and its quality standards globally, Bader said yesterday.

Kuwait began the vaccination campaign on December 27, with 454,522 people registered to take the vaccination as of this past Monday. About 137,000 people have taken the vaccine, among them about 119,000 Kuwaiti citizens, while the daily rate of vaccinations is recorded at 16,000 people. - KUNA