Kuwait extends curfew as Qatar plans to gradually lift lockdown

Kuwait will expand its suspension of work in the public sector, including at government ministries, until May 31 and is extending its nationwide curfew to 16 hours to combat the coronavirus, a government spokesman has said.

The 4pm-to-8am curfew will go into effect at the start of the fast of the holy month of Ramadan, which could fall on Thursday or later this week, depending on the sighting of the new crescent moon, the spokesman explained on Monday.

Elsewhere in the Gulf region, Qatar said it would start on Wednesday to gradually lift the lockdown imposed since March 17 on a large section of the industrial zone. Many low-income migrant workers live and work there, and the area had emerged as a hot-spot for the virus. Nearly 6,500 workers were moved into quarantine between April 14 and 17 as a precautionary step ahead of the reopening of the area, although they show no clear symptoms of the disease, the government said.

The region has seen an increasing number of infections among foreign workers living in overcrowded accommodation. The number of cases in the six Gulf Arab states has risen steadily to surpass 28,000, with more than 170 deaths, Reuters reported. Containment measures include halting passenger flights, imposing curfews and closing most public venues.