Kuwait has opened shopping malls and has allowed 30 percent of private and public sector employees to return to work. A new partial curfew is in place from 8pm to 5am, as part of Phase 2 of efforts to reopen the economy.
The announcement was made by Tareq Al Mezrem, a governmental spokesman during a virtual press conference last month.
“The cabinet of ministers’ interest in reopening the economy led to the decision to open up commercial businesses, trusting that the necessary precautions suggested by the government are implemented,” said Al Mezrem.
Most shopping malls have imposed mandatory rules, although there is no unified protocol requiring visitors to wear masks at all times, and have also limited the number of customers per store when implementing the two-metre distance rule throughout their premises. The social media has been circulating images showing people lined up waiting to enter various stores at The Avenues Mall.
As for offices, both private and public sector are now allowed for return of 30 percent of their workforce. Several businesses are following a shift-like schedule, and employees are rotated through the week depending on their responsibilities.
The Undersecretary of Civil Services, Bader Al Hamad, during the press conference announced that employees should refrain from using break rooms, and the desks should be re-arranged to ensure social distancing and the exchange of physical documents should be reduced.
Although commercial businesses and shops are opening throughout the country, Mahboula, Jleeb Al Shuyoukh and Farwaniya will remain under complete lockdown. These areas have been on total lockdown since 6th April.
The Government of Kuwait had announced a five-stage plan on 26th May to ease the country back to normal life. As of 30th June, Kuwait has confirmed 46,195 positive cases of Covid-19, and 37,030 have made complete recovery.
