Kuwait denies rumor of lifting ban on passengers from high-risk countries

KUWAIT CITY: The Ministry of Health and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have been discussing the institutional quarantine mechanism for all arriving passengers at Kuwait International Airport starting from Feb 21, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

According to the mechanism, all arriving passengers will shoulder the cost of the seven-day institutional quarantine and they will be required to undergo home quarantine for another seven days, sources revealed.

Sources said the ministry expressed reservations over the expansion of institutional quarantine hotels, taking into account the number of medical staff required and their stay in hotels or institutional quarantine centers as each hotel needs specialized medical staff.

The sources revealed the proposed institutional quarantine prices which require nod from the official authorities include 7-day period for 6 nights, as follows:

For 5-star hotels – Single room: 270 dinars; Double room: 330 dinars;
4-star hotels – Single room: 180 dinars, Double room: 240 dinars;
3-star hotels – Single room: 120 dinars, Double room: 180 dinars

Sources explained the quarantine mechanism will be applied first on citizens as they are the only ones allowed to enter the country at the moment, and then the expatriates later; but this depends on the decline in the number of new corona cases, number of corona patients in intensive care units, and expansion of the vaccination program.

Sources added some parties suggested the involvement of the private medical sector, but the ministry rejected the idea as private medical centers are not specialized in corona cases.

In addition, sources confirmed there has been a high demand for return flights to Kuwait among citizens since the implementation of the decision to suspend the entry of expatriates for two weeks. This is the reason why some citizens have expressed concern that the institutional quarantine mechanism will be applied on them once it takes effect on Feb 1, sources disclosed.

Sources denied rumors that Kuwait intends to lift the ban on passengers from high-risk countries in the next stage. “In case the decision to suspend the entry of foreigners, which remains effective until Feb 21, is cancelled; the banned countries are excluded as it will be applied only on passengers coming from Turkey, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain,” sources pointed out. They added the cost of institutional quarantine in hotels and the implementation mechanism will be finalized in the coming days.