Kuwait's coronavirus curfew has people rushing back home - in pictures

A one-month curfew follows a sharp rise in coronavirus cases

Vehicles crowd Kuwait City's main highway. The Kuwaiti government has imposed a 12-hour daily curfew from 07 March, for at least a month, to curb COVID-19. EPA

Pedestrians are silhouetted as they cross a bridge in Kuwait City, at dusk. From March 7, residents are being being placed under a 5pm to 5am coronavirus curfew. EPA

Vehicles crowd Kuwait City's main highway. The curfew was imposed following a record daily number of Covid-19 infections. EPA

Vehicles crowd Kuwait City's main highway at sunset. The overnight curfew will last until at least April 8. EPA

Kuwait is being placed under curfew  for at least a month  – after the country recorded its highest daily Covid-19 infection count.

A curfew from 5pm to 5am begins on Sunday and will continue until at least April 8, according to a government statement on Thursday.

On Thursday, Kuwait recorded 1,716 coronavirus infections – the highest count in 24 hours since the start of the outbreak – bringing the total number of cases to more than 196,000.

There have been 1,105 deaths from the virus since the pandemic began.

Meanwhile, Kuwait's Ministry of Health is considering exempting residents who have been inoculated against Covid-19 from hotel quarantine upon arrival in the country.

Instead, they will be allowed to quarantine at home, according to Kuwait's official news agency Kuna.

The ministry's under-secretary of health affairs, Dr Bothaina al Maudhaf, told Kuna on Saturday that the ministry has vaccinated all registered residents aged 65 years and older.

However, she said only 17 per cent of Kuwait's population has registered for vaccination.

Kuwait has since February 7 cut opening hours for non-essential retail shops and banned non-citizens from entering the country.