Coronavirus: Kuwait raises budget of ministries, government agencies by $1.6 bln

Coronavirus: Kuwait raises budget of ministries, government agencies by $1.6 bln
March 16, 2020, 4:52 pm

Expatriates wait for mandatory coronavirus testing in a makeshift testing centre in Mishref, Kuwait, March 14, 2020. (Reuters)

Kuwait’s cabinet approved a bill to increase the budget of the ministries and governmental departments by 500 million dinar ($1.62 billion) for the fiscal year 2020/2021, to support their efforts in coping with the spread of the coronavirus, state news agency KUNA reported on Monday. bln

The cabinet also approved the establishment of a temporary fund for receiving financial contributions from different institutions, companies and individuals, in order to support the government’s efforts in facing the outbreak.

The cabinet also introduced a draft law to punish those who are aware they are infected with a communicable disease and caused the transmission of the infection to another person intentionally with a prison sentence of five years maximum and a fine of no less than 10,000 dinar ($32,364) and no more than 50,000 dinar ($161,818) or one of those two penalties. bln

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kuwait stood at 123 cases as of Monday, according to the ministry of health. LEVANT

source: Tuqa Khalid LEVANT

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