Breakthrough seen

KUWAIT CITY, May 16, (Agencies): Kuwait’s Ministry of Health on Saturday reported six COVID-19 deaths and 795 in-fections in the past 24 hours.
The new figures took the country’s death toll to 1,687 and the caseload to 290,801, noted the ministry’s spokesperson Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad in statements to KUNA.
He pointed out that some 1,047 more have recovered over the past day, raising the total to 276,792.
He added that the number of people hospitalized with the virus currently stands at 12,322, including 194 currently at in ICUs.
Al-Sanad revealed that some 6,991 swabs conducted over the last day, bringing the total to 2.45 million.
He renewed calls to abide by health precautions to curb the spread of the virus.
The coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in Kuwait is expected to improve in the upcoming months as the vaccination campaign continues, leading to a possible breakthrough and decrease in the number of infections, said Minister of Health Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah Thursday.
In separate visits to Mubarak Al-Khabeer hospital and vaccination center in Mishref area, the minister expressed grati-tude towards medical staff’s selfless efforts in countering the spread of COVID-19.
The minister also commended the staff at vaccination centers throughout Kuwait, saying that their work will lead to victory against coronavirus.
While congratulating the leadership, citizens and residents on the advent of Eid Al-Fitr, the health minister urged all to continue following social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, stressing that it was another crucial component of the fight.

The number of citizens and expats who are vaccinated at the Kuwait Vaccination Center in Mishref Thursday, the first day of Eid Al Fitr, exceeded 10,000, reports Al-Jarida daily quoting informed health sources.
The center remained open from 12 noon until 7:00 pm, and remained closed on Friday and Saturday. Vaccinations will resume Sunday, with new timings from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm.

Minister of Oil and Higher Education Dr Muhammad Al-Faris recently inspected the drive-thru vaccination center that the oil sector is currently establishing along Sheikh Jaber Causeway in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, reports Al-Jarida daily.

Al-Faris visited the center along with Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Hashem Hashem, Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) Imad Sultan, and acting Chief Executive Officer of Kuwait Inte-grated Petroleum Industries Company (KIPIC) Walid Al-Badr.

During the visit, Al-Fares was briefed on the progress of the construction of the center that will be an added value to the ongoing vaccination campaign in the country. He listened to a detailed explanation on the construction work and the latest developments in the center, which is located in the southern island of Sheikh Jaber Causeway.

At the end of the visit, Al-Fares thanked those in charge of this project while praising the tremendous efforts they are exerting to complete the center in record time in preparation for the start of its operations within the next few days.

He also considers the Cabinet’s decision to assign this project to the oil sector a manifestation of the political leader-ship’s trust in the ability of the sector to carry out this task. He believes this stems from the realization that the sector has the capacity to manage projects of this size.

He pointed out the sector greatly contributed to the fight against corona in the past year, indicating this contribution is clear to everyone as reflected in the local and international praises for the establishment of the field hospital in the exhibition grounds in Mishref.

He is hoping for the successful completion of this project and other projects in the future. He then expressed his Eid Al-Fitr greeting to everyone.

It is worth mentioning that this will be the first drive thru vaccination center in the country with a capacity of 5,000 cars per day.

The resumption of work at full capacity in government agencies is imminent due to the acceleration of the vaccination pace, improvement of the epidemiological situation, and commitment to precautionary measures, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources.

Sources pointed out that the Cabinet’s decision in its meeting last Monday to increase the percentage of workers in government agencies to 60 percent will not affect the exemption of some employees in the government sector, as the exemption rules were clarified as per the policies and procedures for the gradual return to work. Sources stressed that the exemption will continue based on the approval of the concerned official or the employee’s workplace.

Sources said the recent Cabinet decision gives authority to each workplace to determine the appropriate percentage of workers according to the nature of work and manpower needs, as some entities need the maximum number of workers while others do not. Sources explained the increase in the workers’ attendance rate from 30 to 60 percent is in line with the work requirements of government agencies, taking into consideration that the workload in the past one year and a half was heavy for the 30 percent employees who had to work harder than usual. Sources said the higher number of vaccinated employees led to the decision to increase the number of employees reporting for work, indicating any entity which needs the presence of more than 60 percent of its employees must obtain approval from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to avoid violating the decision of the Council of Ministers.

Sources went on to say that since the beginning of the corona crisis, many government agencies have requested for exemption due to the nature of their work and the CSC approved their request; taking into account the possibility of applying health regulations, entity’s nature of work, and justifications for raising the percentage of workers. Sources disclosed some institutions have been operating with more than 60 percent or even 100 percent workforce like the Financial Supervisors Authority, Public Authority for Handicapped Affairs and others.

Sources reiterated that full resumption of work is on the horizon, considering the increase in the vaccination rate. A higher vaccination rate brings the government sector closer to the possibility of working at full capacity, sources con-cluded.