Kuwait tells citizens to leave European countries amid rise in Covid-19 cases

Warning issued for UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Ukraine

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Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron

Kuwait has told its citizens in the UK to return home because of a “significant and unprecedented” rise in coronavirus cases there.

The UK reported a daily record of 189,846 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, far more than during previous waves.

Kuwait's embassies in Italy, Spain, Germany, Ukraine and France issued similar advice, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

“The embassies stressed the necessity of abiding by Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry’s call to citizens to adjourn travel and not leave Kuwait at present for their safety amid unstable health conditions in Spain, Germany and Italy, as well as other countries,“ the report said.

The embassies issued a warning that lockdowns and other restrictions could be imposed in western countries as the highly infectious Omicron coronavirus strain continues to spread.

Kuwait has begun to offer a third, or booster, dose of the coronavirus vaccine free of charge to people over the age of 50, without the need to make an appointment first.