Kuwait locks down two districts, extends public holiday over coronavirus

Kuwaiti police officers man a checkpoint at Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, above, on two heavily populated areas where poorer expatriate workers live. (AFP)

• Interior minister urged people to stay indoors even during non-curfew hours

DUBAI: Kuwait placed a full lockdown on two densely-populated districts and extended a public holiday by two weeks until April 26 as precautionary measures against the coronavirus, the cabinet said on Monday.
It also extended its partial curfew by two hours in the morning to run from 5 p.m. until 6 a.m. effective Monday until further notice. The interior minister urged people to stay indoors even during non-curfew hours.
The Gulf Arab country has recorded 665 cases of the new coronavirus and one death so far.
It declared a two-week public holiday from March 12 except for entities providing essential services, which has since been extended.
On Monday, the cabinet said all ministries and government institutions would now remain on holiday until April 26.
The two districts to be put under a two-week “complete isolation” are Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and Mahboula, two heavily populated areas where poorer expatriate workers live.
“The decision to isolate (the two area areas) is in order to test everyone in there and treat them so it does not impact other areas,” the state news agency KUNA reported the interior minister as saying.
Countries of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have recorded almost 8,000 cases of infection and 60 deaths.