Kuwait vaccinates 70 per cent of population against Covid-19

The country began its mass vaccination campaign against Covid-19 in December

A man is inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at Siddeeq Health Centre in Kuwait City. Photo: AFP

Kuwait has immunised 70 per cent of its population against Covid 19, Health Minister Basil Al Sabah said on Wednesday.

“Praise be to God. Officially, the vaccination rate has reached 70 per cent,” he said on Twitter.

The country began its mass vaccination campaign in December.

Mobile vaccination units were opened in April in businesses and mosques throughout the country.

Within the past 24 hours, Kuwait has recorded 166 new cases of the coronavirus and two deaths.

The health ministry reported 583 new recovery cases, bringing the total number to 402,420. It said the ratio of recoveries to infections was 98.48 per cent.

Health Ministry spokesman Dr Abdullah Al Sanad said 11,923 PCR tests were taken, bringing the total number to 3,699,218, and that about one in 100 tests came back positive.

Kuwait has recorded 408,600 and 2,409 deaths since the pandemic began.

On Tuesday, the country’s ports authority said it had suspended passenger transport by sea owing to infection concerns. Shipping operations continue.

Since August 1, Kuwaiti citizens have been allowed to travel abroad only if they have been immunised against Covid-19.

Those arriving in the country must present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result before they board their flights. On arrival, they must quarantine at home for a week unless they take another PCR test that produces a negative result.

On Monday, the Kuwaiti government eased some coronavirus-related restrictions and allowed many activities to resume. Gatherings such conferences and weddings remain off-limits to people who have not been vaccinated.

Direct flights between Kuwait and Morocco, and to and from the Maldives, resumed on August 1.