Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Handling Challenges in Kuwait

Abstract

The world is currently facing a serious pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which started in Wuhan, China, and was then transmitted rapidly to other countries. Countries applied different methods and procedures in an attempt to prevent or reduce and/or control the incidence of cases and manage existing ones. This paper discusses the methods and procedures applied by Kuwait to control this epidemic, and how effective they have been. The State of Kuwait followed WHO, European CDC, US CDC, and/or other countries’ institutional guidelines, and is still working on containing the disease, given the rising number of cases among Kuwaitis returning from affected areas such as the UK and USA, and migrant workers who share the burden, given their living conditions.

Centering the Margins: The Precarity of Bangladeshi Low-Income Migrant Workers During the Time of COVID-19

“…For instance, during the pandemic, they were asked to work (or continue working) in areas of high risks/exposures (e.g., as cleaners, domestic workers) without sufficient protections, and they were placed in unhygienic and cramped accommodations with inadequate medical facilities. Such multipronged adversities not only increased their chances of infection (some described such living areas as epicenters of COVID-19) but also triggered mental-health issues among the marginalized workers ( Gasana & Shehab, 2020 ).…”

“…During the pandemic, many migrant workers quarantined in unhygienic and cramped living spaces. Some news reports suggested that up to a dozen migrant workers were placed in a single room of dilapidated houses, where the availability of essential resources such as hand sanitizers, soaps, and sufficient water were scarce ( Gasana & Shehab, 2020 ; Kristiansen & Sheikh, 2014 ). Moreover, impossibilities in implementing social distancing and other measures (WHO recommended) and social habits of the migrants (influenced by collectivistic cultures) potentially made their living spaces epicenters of COVID-19 outbreak ( Karim et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Moreover, scholars noticed that the mental health of many migrant workers deteriorated owing to their concerns about their uncertain income, health of family members at home, and fear of deportation ( Gasana & Shehab, 2020 ); moreover, many migrant workers lost their friends and family members. ( Simkhada et al, 2018 ).…”

PM2.5 and PM10 during COVID-19 lockdown in Kuwait: Mixed effect of dust and meteorological covariates

“…Reported cases started to increase exponentially, which prompted the government to declare a ‘partial lockdown’ (referred to as ‘lockdown’ hereafter) beginning from 22 March until 10 May (50 days). Kuwait implemented gradual lockdown restrictions to help control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 [ 1 , 2 ], and all public and private transport, government and private sectors and non-essential industries were shut down during the ‘curfew’ hours of the lockdown. Private transport, although diminished significantly, was permitted only during the ‘non curfew’ hours.…”

Investigation on psychological state of occupational exposure of medical staff in operation room under novel coronavirus

“…In China, the general secretary Xi Jinping stressed the importance of artificial intelligence to handle epidemic monitoring and analysis, resource allocation, prevention and treatment and virus tracing (People's Daily, 2020). Mental health illness in COVID-19 patients has been reported in various countries ( Begum et al, 2021 , Gasana and Shehab, 2020 ).…”