KUWAIT: Kuwait's civil aviation body reiterated late Sunday that non-Kuwaiti passengers from 31 countries are not allowed to enter Kuwait, whether flying directly or via other countries. However, non-Kuwaiti passengers will be allowed to fly to Kuwait if they stayed in third countries for at least 14 days, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said.

After 14 days, they must undergo a PCR test for COVID-19 and provide a certificate proving a negative result of not being infected with the coronavirus, the DGCA added in a press statement. It noted that the validity of this certificate should not exceed 72 hours between the test date and arrival date to Kuwait.

The directorate announced on Saturday a ban on all passengers coming from 31 countries from entering Kuwait until further notice. It pointed out that the move was taken based on instructions by the Kuwaiti health authorities due to the situation and repercussions caused by the spread of the coronavirus in these "high risk" countries.

The countries from which passengers are banned from entering Kuwait include Armenia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nepal, Northern Macedonia, Panama, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka and Syria.

Commercial flights resumed to Kuwait airport on Saturday, but a concerted campaign by a large number of lawmakers and Kuwaitis on social media forced the civil aviation authority to ban passengers from these 31 countries. The foreign ministry said the decision will be regularly revised to remove or add other countries.