Kuwait to impose travel ban on unvaccinated individuals

The new restrictions will come into effect on 22 May

A travel ban will be imposed on Kuwaiti nationals and their domestic helpers from 22 May if they do not receive the Covid-19 vaccine.

Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Dr Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohamad Al-Sabah confirmed that young citizens who don’t need to get vaccinated will be exempt from this ban and that non-Kuwaiti individuals are still not permitted to enter the country. 

The government has urged all citizens and residents to exercise caution and has approved a request from the Ministry of Health to deploy 500 nursing students in the field for six months to mitigate the current shortage of medical staff.

In addition, Kuwait’s health ministry confirmed that it would delay appointments for the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for up to six weeks in non-urgent cases, whereas for those above 60 and with underlying conditions the timeframe between both doses would be three weeks.