Kuwait cancels decision to close commercial activities at 8 pm, from Tuesday — cabinet

Kuwaitis queue in their cars to receive a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at a drive-thru inoculation site at the Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah causeway in the capital Kuwait City. (File/AFP)

• Kuwait will allow only those who are vaccinated to various activities
• Kuwait will allow direct flights to Morocco and Maldives starting Aug. 1

CAIRO: The Kuwaiti cabinet canceled its decision to close commercial activities at 8 pm, starting Tuesday, the cabinet said in a statement on Monday.
Kuwait will open all activities except for gatherings which include conferences, weddings, and social events, and will also open special activities for children, starting from Sept. 1, the cabinet said.
Kuwait will allow only those who are vaccinated to access various activities. The unvaccinated will be only allowed to enter pharmacies, consumer cooperative societies, and food and catering marketing outlets, starting from Aug. 1, the cabinet added. 
The cabinet also reversed a July 25 decision to close nurseries and summer clubs for children, and said they would reopen as well from September.
The cabinet said that large gatherings including conferences, weddings and other social events, will remain banned until further notice.
The decisions come following a significant decline in the number of new coronavirus infections.
On Monday, Kuwait recorded nine COVID-19 deaths and 988 new cases, raising the totals to 2,293 and 393,605, respectively.
The Ministry of Health also confirmed 1,336 patients recovered from the virus in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 377,434.
The Kuwaiti cabinet also announced that direct flights to Morocco and Maldives will resume starting Aug. 1.
(With Reuters)