Kuwait registered a record-low 1.89 percent tests to infections ratio as health authorities reassured that the country’s health system is stable, while at the same time urging the public to stay vigilant in order to avoid another COVID-19 wave. Kuwait had announced on Friday 226 new cases registered over the previous 24 hours compared to 11,934 swab tests taken on the same day. Total cases reached 407,878 as of Friday, while deaths climbed to 2,401 with two cases reported on the same day.

Meanwhile, the recovery rate reached 98.1 percent as 618 fresh recoveries were reported on Friday, raising total recoveries to 400,148. The number of people hospitalized with the virus stood at 340 as of Friday, with 173 of them in intensive care units, Health Ministry spokesperson Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad said, noting that another 5,329 patients were receiving regular treatment.

In the meantime, Dr Khaled Al-Jarallah, head of the COVID-19 supreme committee, said that following health protocols remains necessary especially with the impending return to school in campus starting October 3, in order to avoid a new wave of the virus. Despite the improvements Kuwait has seen in its fight against the virus, vaccination, health precautions and epidemiological surveillance remain necessary at this point, he noted yesterday.

Dr Abdullah Al-Mutairi, a consultant at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Jaber Hospital, said recently that three COVID-19 ICU wards have closed as patient occupancy decreases, while Dr Dana Al-Haqan, a pediatric consultant at the hospital, had announced last week that the last child was discharged from the hospital. Health authorities have recently announced opening new vaccination center as the country nears vaccinating 70 percent of the population against COVID-19./KT