Kuwait must act as one against coronavirus: Speaker Al-Ghanim

KUWAIT CITY, March 17: Kuwait National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim highlighted the commitment of Parliament to cooperation with the executive authority in the face of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). “Now, there are neither two trenches nor two teams; there is only one team, called Kuwait. All Kuwaitis must act as one and be in the same trench in the fight against the Covid-19,” he said in an interview with Kuwait TV channel last night.

Meanwhile, the third meeting on coronavirus was held in the office of National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim with Minister of Interior Anas Al-Saleh and 19 MPs in attendance.

In a press conference after the meeting, Al-Ghanim said the meeting was fruitful and that Al- Saleh listened to the comments, questions and suggestions of the MPs.

He confirmed the minister will forward these comments, questions and suggestions to the Ministers Council. He quoted Al-Saleh as saying that imposing partial curfew depends on the compliance of citizens and expatriates with regulations laid down by health authorities.

He revealed the Ministry of Interior is facing problems because of wedding parties and social gatherings in diwaniyas which contribute to the spread of coronavirus.

He went on to say that Al-Saleh told them the process of evacuating citizens from various countries must be preceded by completion of the first stage of addressing the crisis – curb the spread of coronavirus.

Al-Saleh pointed out that according to the recommendations of health authorities, it is too dangerous to start these two procedures simultaneously as the evacuation of citizens should be done only once the spread of coronavirus is controlled, he disclosed. He added another meeting will be held Wednesday in the presence of Minister of Social Affairs and State Minister for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel to tackle issues related to coronavirus and responsibilities of the ministry in this regard.

Also, Al-Saleh affirmed in a press conference that he listened to the comments and recommendations of the MPs; indicating he felt their worries about the evacuation of Kuwaitis from other countries. He confirmed there is a plan to guarantee safe and organized evacuation process, concurrently with readiness of the required quarantine centers.

On imposing a partial curfew, Al-Saleh said this is on the table but the issuance of such a decision depends on how committed the citizens and expatriates are to the directives of concerned authorities. He pointed out the current level of commitment is satisfying but there is still a lot of room for improvement. He called on citizens to avoid wedding parties and meetings in diwaniyas as these are major factors in spreading coronavirus.

In a related development, MP Sa’adoun Hammad revealed the government gave initial approval to suspending the collection of loan payments for six months. He also demanded for ending the current academic year, in addition to urging the Interior Ministry to specify a grace period for expatriates who violated the Residency Law to leave Kuwait without bearing the consequent penalties.

He called for allowing the Union of Cooperative Societies to directly import commodities and for the concerned authorities to speed up the evacuation of around 80,000 citizens from various countries.

MP Dr Adel Al-Damkhi disclosed he discussed with Al-Saleh the demographic issue, indicating he asked for implementation of medical and security controls in areas heavily populated by bachelors in line with the regulations laid down by health authorities.

He suggested granting Kuwaiti nationality to those on the frontline of dealing with coronavirus in recognition of their remarkable service to the nation. He affirmed that Al- Saleh fully understands his recommendation. He also appealed to citizens to avoid gatherings including wedding parties and diwaniya meetings as such acts that contravene the directives of the government. He warned that continuation of these activities might prompt the government to impose partial curfew.

MP Muhammad Al-Dallal urged the Ministry of Social Affairs to allow charities to provide assistance for expatriates and Bedouns in the form of foodstuff and medical equipment, especially those whose income has been affected by the coronavirus crisis. MP Yousef Al-Fadalah stressed the importance of evacuating citizens from abroad and deporting expatriates proven to have violated the Residency Law.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff and Agencies