As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare issued 'Guidelines for International Arrivals' and regularly updated them. Globally, COVID-19 cases are on the rise, resulting in revisions to the current guidelines.

Scope 

For flights landing in India from 1st January, 2023 (10.00 IST) until further orders, this document provides protocols to be followed by international travellers and points of entry (airports, seaports, and land borders).

A.1. Planning for Travel 

1. Travelers should preferably be fully vaccinated as per the country's primary schedule of vaccination against COVID-19.

2. A set of additional requirements applies to all international flights from certain high-risk countries Travelers of this type would need to:

a. Submit complete and factual information in self-declaration form on the online Air Suvidha portal (www.newdelhiairport.in) before the scheduled travel, including last 14 days’ travel details.

b. Upload negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report on the Air Suvidha portal (The test should have been conducted within 72 hrs prior to undertaking the journey).

c. Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise.

d. They should also give an undertaking on the portal or otherwise to Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, through concerned airlines before they are allowed to undertake the journey that they would abide by the decision of the appropriate government authority for any post arrival requirement including home/institutional quarantine/ self-health monitoring, as warranted.

A.2. During Travel 

3. In-flight announcement about the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic including precautionary measures to be followed (preferable use of masks and following physical distancing) shall be made in flights/travel and at all points of entry.

4. Passengers with symptoms of COVID-19 during travel shall be isolated as per standard protocol i.e. wearing masks, being isolated and segregated from other passengers throughout flight/travel, and being shifted to an isolation facility for further treatment.

A.3. On arrival 

5. De-boarding should be done ensuring physical distancing.

6. The health officials at the point of entry should conduct thermal screenings on all passengers.

7. The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening shall be immediately isolated, taken to a designated medical facility as per health protocol (as above).

8. The following protocol post arrival shall also be followed:

a. A sub-section (2% of the total passengers  in all incoming international flights) shall undergo random post arrival testing at the airport on arrival, irrespective of port of departure.

b. Such travellers in each flight shall be identified by the concerned airlines (preferably from different countries). They will submit the samples and shall be allowed to leave the airport thereafter.

c. If such travellers samples are tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at INSACOG laboratory network.

d. They shall be treated/isolated as per laid down standard protocol.

9. All travellers should self-monitor their health post arrival also shall report to their nearest health facility or call National helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number in case they have any symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.

* China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Japan

* Children under 12 years of age are exempted from both pre-departure and post-arrival random testing. However, if found symptomatic for COVID-19 on arrival or during the period of self-monitoring period, they shall undergo testing and treated as per laid down protocol.

Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior (MoI) has taken all necessary security and traffic arrangements and preparations across the country ahead of New Year festivities, said a senior security official Thursday.

The main goals of the country’s security organs are to apply law to everyone without any exception and to deal with all people nationwide in a civilized manner, taking human circumstances and conditions into account, the ministry’s public relations manager Maj. Gen. Tawheed Al-Kandari said in a press statement. (KUNA)

After being convicted of providing a fake experience certificate, a Kuwaiti court sentenced a foreign doctor to one month in prison and ordered his deportation after serving the sentence.

According to Al Qabas, an Egyptian doctor who had worked at a Kuwaiti private hospital forwarded documents, including an experience certificate, to apply for a job in another Gulf country.

The experience certificate was found to be false when the documents were verified.

In court, the hospital's lawyer argued that the doctor's act was "unethical and dishonest", as well as forging official documents.

An unidentified suspect killed her cat with three gunshots, according to a local newspaper. A female citizen insisted on tracking him down. The complainant registered a misdemeanor case at the Al-Fayhaa police station under the title “harming an animal.”

A woman in her thirties reported the incident to the police station after being informed that her cat was shot by an unidentified individual in her garden at precisely 3:00 pm last Wednesday.

The citizen confirmed that she rushed her cat to a veterinary clinic, where veterinarians declared the animal dead. A medical report confirming the animal’s death and the cause of death was attached to the case file.

The General Traffic Department announced that its patrol vehicles will be released with a “new look” in the new Gregorian year 2023 that distinguishes them from the patrol vehicles of the other sectors of the Ministry of Interior, reports Al-Rai daily. Director of the General Traffic Department Major General Yousef Al-Khadda declared the release of about 300 traffic patrol vehicles with their new look, after changing their color from cyan to yellow in order to make them look different from the patrol vehicles of other sectors in the Ministry of Interior so that citizens and residents can easily identify them on the roads and request assistance in emergency situations.

He revealed that, “There are 500 old patrol vehicles that are currently in service, and they will be completely changed during the coming period.” Major General Al-Khadda said, “The General Traffic Department will soon launch a new bid for vehicles equipped with the best technologies and cameras to monitor violations of vehicles that are parked in prohibited areas or in parking lots for people with special needs, which impede movement either in markets, complexes, or government agencies that witness a density of vehicles. Its role will be to capture the vehicle on video and photographs, after which the file will be uploaded to the traffic system to record a direct violation. This is aimed to ensure that the rights of the violator and the traffic department are not lost. This will also help the officers to focus on other work without being preoccupied with following up this violation.”

Rains continued throughout the country until Wednesday dawn as levels reached as high as 63mm and as low as 12.5mm, Kuwait Meteorological Department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said Tuesday. The levels hit 63mm at Al-Ahmadi Port, 17.7 mm in Kuwait City, 17.5 mm in Al- Jahra Governorate and 12.5 at Kuwait Airport.

Speaking to KUNA in a statement, Abdulaziz Al- Qaraqi, a meteorologist at the department, forecast that the weather will improve gradually following Wednesday dawn and that the country witnessed scattered heavy rains in several parts. The country will witness dry and cold air, and northwesterly winds that are active ranging between 15 and 45 kilometers per hour, he said, indicating that the lowest degrees are between five and eight.(KUNA)

The Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Hamad Al-Adwani has issued a decision regarding the work system and tuition fees in private schools in all their educational systems for the academic year 2022-2023, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to the decision, of which the daily obtained a copy, the fees for the current year will remain the same without an increase in all Arab and foreign private schools, with the continued validity of Resolution 10/2018 regarding private school fees, in addition to the decision issued in 2020 for schools concerned with people with disabilities, for the academic year 2022- 2023.

Authorize
Al-Adwani also decided to authorize the Assistant Undersecretary for General and Specific Education to impose appropriate penalties on schools violating this decision, and other decisions issued in implementation or regulation of it, and the decisions regulating the work of private schools. On the other hand, the Ministry of Education has completed direct contracting procedures for renting 200 cars to transport high school exam boxes for the academic year 2022-2023, to and from committees in various educational regions.

Informed sources said the delay in issuing the tender for the means of transferring paper exams to the regulatory authorities is what prompted the ministry to resort to direct contracting, in order for the success of the process of transferring documents on the scheduled date on January 4, and not obstructing the progress of work. The sources indicated that the cost of direct contracting for the provision of these transport vehicles amounted to about 75 thousand dinars during the examination period for the academic period from January 4 to January 16, 2023.

Rains accompanied by hailstones fell in a number of areas in Kuwait which brought great joy from some Kuwaitis and expats, in various regions of Kuwait. Besides heavy rains in some parts, the southern part of the country saw showers of hailstones and snowfall especially in the camp areas that were most fortunate to enjoy wonderful winter weather.

People pose for a picture in an area south of Kuwait that witnessed snow fall Tuesday, Dec 27, 2022Children playing with the snow while their parents look on.

With the increase in the fees for visiting clinics and obtaining medicines to KD 7 starting from last week, the number of expatriates seeking treatment started declining. A number of health centers recorded a decline of about 85 percent in areas inhabited by a large segment of expatriates.

In the context, informed health sources explained that daily visits to some health centers on Monday did not exceed 150 visits. This is a sharp decline compared to the average rate of visits to these centers, which ranged between 1,000 and 1,200 visits per day before the fee increase. Meanwhile, Director of the Mubarak Al- Kabeer Health Zone Dr. Walid Al-Busairi affirmed in a press statement that the area “was not affected by the decision to increase fees for medicines for expatriates”. He indicated that it differs in Farwaniya, Hawally, Ahmadi and Jahra areas that provide health services to expatriates.

Dr. Al-Busairi said, “Primary health care centers in Mubarak Al-Kabeer area cover domestic workers. Therefore, it is not greatly affected by the decision to increase fees, given that these categories are exempted from them. The percentage of the cost of medicines in the Ministry of Health compared to the value paid ranges between 10 and 25 percent. If it is compared to the purchase value of the same medicine from outside the ministry, we will find that it is very low.” By Marwa Al-Bahrawi Al-Seyassah/ Arab Times Staff

The Public Relations Department at the Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) was able to extinguish a fire in Khaitan. Various injuries were reported on Monday. The central command sent fire squads from Jaleeb, Sabhan and Farwaniya stations to the scene.

The fire started on the 13th floor of a 14 storey building with thick smoke billowing from the building. Firefighters were able to evacuate the building and combat the fire. The injured residents were sent to the hospital for treatment.

US emergency crews counted the grim costs of a colossal winter storm that brought Christmas chaos to millions, especially in hard-hit western New York, where the death toll reached 25 Monday in what authorities described as a “war with mother nature”. Blizzard conditions continue to prevail in parts of the US Northeast, the stubborn remnants of a massive sprawl of extreme weather including severe cold that gripped the country over several days, causing widespread power outages, travel delays and at least 47 deaths nationwide.

The extreme weather forced the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights in recent days including more than 1,700 on Monday, according to tracking site Flightaware.com. Buffalo – a US city that is no stranger to foul winter weather – has been buried under staggering amounts of snow, with the National Weather Service forecasting up to 14 inches Monday in addition to the several feet that have already left the city marooned, with a virtual collapse of emergency services.

The blizzard has stubbornly refused to release its grip on western New York’s Erie County, where Buffalo is located and which has become the epicenter of the crisis. “In addition to the 13 confirmed deaths yesterday, the Erie County Department of Health medical examiner’s office has confirmed an additional 12 deaths, bringing the total for the blizzard to 25 deaths county-wide,” Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said in a press briefing.

The ferocious weather makes this “the worst storm probably in our lifetime, and the history of the city,” Poloncarz said, noting the death toll in Erie will likely surpass that of Buffalo’s infamous blizzard of 1977, when nearly 30 people died. With more snow in the forecast and most of Buffalo “impassable,” he warned residents to bunker down and stay in place. “This is not the end yet, we are not there,” he said.

National Guard members and other teams have rescued hundreds of people from snow-covered cars and homes without electricity, but authorities have said more people remain trapped. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, said she was stunned by what she saw during a Sunday reconnaissance tour of the city. “It is (like) going to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking,” Hochul said, describing eight-foot (2.4-m) snow drifts against homes and how power outages made for life-threatening conditions. “This is a war with mother nature,” she said.

The extreme weather sent wind chill temperatures in all 48 contiguous US states below freezing over the weekend. At one point on Saturday, nearly 1.7 million customers were without electricity in the biting cold, according to tracker poweroutage.us. That number has dropped substantially, although there were still some 50,000 without electricity Monday morning on the US east coast. Due to frozen electric substations, some Erie County residents were not expected to regain power until Tuesday, with one substation reportedly buried under 18 feet of snow, a senior county official said.

Officials described historically dangerous conditions in the snow-prone Buffalo region, with hours-long whiteouts and bodies discovered in vehicles and under snowbanks. Emergency workers continued the difficult search for those in need of rescue. The city’s international airport remains closed until Tuesday and a driving ban remained in effect for Buffalo and much of Erie County. Road ice and white-out conditions also led to the temporary closure of some of the nation’s busiest transport routes, including part of the cross-country Interstate 70 highway. Drivers were being warned not to take to the roads – even as the nation reached what is usually its busiest time of year for travel. – AFP

 The Japanese Embassy has announced that the government of Japan is offering scholarships for Kuwaiti teachers who intend to do a research on education in Japanese universities, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In a press statement, the embassy enumerated the conditions for Kuwaitis applying for the scholarship as follows:
■ Born on April 2, 1988 or later;
■ Graduates of universities or teacher training institutes;
■ Worked as a teacher in primary, intermediate or secondary levels for at least five years;
■ Physically fit;
■ Interested in Japan and keen on gaining more knowledge about the country;
■ Ability to do research work in Japan and could easily adapt to the way of living there. The embassy said the deadline for submitting the required documents is on Feb 23, 2023; while the written exam will be conducted on March 6, 2023.

Applications should be hand-delivered to the embassy, then there will be a written exam in English and Japanese, and a personal interview.

The Ministry of Electricity and Water revealed until Sunday it has received more than 45 requests from companies and individuals to install electric car chargers, since the ministry opened the door to receive applications in this regard on December 4. The sources told Al-Qabas that the ministry is still studying the extent to which the applications it received conform to the standard specifications it had previously set, and that none of these applications has been approved yet.

Approval process
The sources expect the approval process for the first application would take place at the beginning of the new year, after which the provision of these chargers would begin for those wishing to obtain them in the local market. The sources stated that no chargers have been approved so far, whether in private housing or in government agencies or the private sector, as this step is supposed to start after approving requests to provide chargers in the local market.

Clean energy
In addition, the sources said that ministry officials held a meeting a few days ago with the Ministry of Finance to discuss activating the decision to purchase clean energy from citizens and producing companies in light of the recent amendment to the ministry’s terms of reference decree, which allowed purchases from citizens and private entities. The sources stated that the meetings with the Ministry of Finance revolve around the expected cost of that procurement process, and the budget that must be available to start this step, which have not yet been resolved between the two parties.

On Sunday, the Interior Ministry warned people against downloading and using AnyDesk because it poses a security threat. In a press release, the Interior Ministry stated that many cases of fraud and theft were reported after using the application, which allows remote access to other people's computers and phones.

It also warned against sharing One-Time Password (OTP) messages, personal or bank information with suspicious individuals and organizations.

Kuwait International Airport has geared up to maximum level of readiness to facilitate travellers and keep pace with the moment of departures and arrivals for New Year’s holiday 2023

A recent statistic issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation revealed that 139,000 passengers will travel through Kuwait Airport, 1,284 flights will be departing and arriving from December 29 to January 1, 2023. Dubai, Doha, Cairo, Istanbul and Jeddah are the top most traveled destinations in terms of reservations. 642 flights are departing carrying about 78,000 passengers, while  642  flights arriving with 61,000 passengers.

There has been increasing demand from Kuwaitis and expats to spend their vacation outside Kuwait, so the operational sector is ready to deal with the movement of travelers during holidays, reports Al Qabas. There are teams working around the clock to implement field plans that aim to regulate the movement of passengers at the airport, as the number of employees will be doubled at the gates, in the transit area, and the departures and arrivals halls.

Arrivals and departure halls and the accompanying services were equipped to ensure the speedy completion of the work, as well as coordination with the Ministries of Customs and the Interior to facilitate procedures, and operate additional “counters” at peak times.

After the Public Prosecution rang alarm bells about electronic fraud, announcing that it had received 300 complaints from the victims, technical experts warned of international gangs targeting Kuwaiti bank accounts, as well as the use of suspicious applications to hack personal data, and then blackmail their owners to obtain money, reports Al- Qabas daily. The technicians explained that some gangs operating in Kuwait and abroad seek to cause the largest number of victims and use them to download a set of applications on their phones to steal their personal data, in addition to stealing credit card numbers.

They pointed out that these gangs work with people of both sexes and contact citizens and residents to deceive them by deluding them into investing by providing them with fictitious investment, financial and marketing services, as well as deceiving them by claiming that they have won prizes.

They added: Despite the repeated warnings of the Ministry of Interior over the past month about remote access applications, victims are still falling every day until the total number of complaints received by the Public Prosecution exceeded 300 complaints pertaining to one application.

In parallel with the efforts of the Public Prosecution, the Ministry of Interior arrested 20 residents, men and women, who provided services that violate Kuwaiti laws and regulations and defrauded individuals through applications and social networking sites using international and encrypted numbers. The head of the Kuwaiti Society for Information Security, Dr. Safa’a Zaman, said that the applications that rely on the remote access system are the ones against which the prosecution receives the most complaints, as these applications “allow people to enter remotely to the device for several reasons, including what companies use to provide assistance to customers remotely, and unfortunately recently, some of these telephone services have been used for bad purposes, which is accessing devices for the purpose of fraud.

Messages
Zaman went on to say, it is one of the most important advices to confront the dangers of such applications, “not to trust messages or calls from any party, whatever the reasons, and not to download any applications or click on links at the request of other people, whatever the reason. She added, if a person feels any change or strange movement in the telephone, must promptly inform the competent authorities, and not give any person who does not know him/her any data that enables them to access the telephone equipment, regardless of the pretexts.

She called on people not to share any details of logging into bank accounts via the Internet, or even to send passwords to anyone. She indicated that in the event of any penetration, the telephone device must be immediately examined with anti-virus software or by an expert in this aspect, and the concerned authorities should be informed of the fraud, in addition to changing the data directly from different passwords and addresses, and informing the bank with which you deal and credit card institutions and others.

In addition, the daily monitored that a group of men and women obtained money through social networking sites, relying on activating fake accounts, suspicious invitations to users, and sending bank links as prizes through WhatsApp.

Some of these gangs also exploited the victims through smart applications based on the virtual network that supports the VPN encryption system, as users are required to purchase financial cards ranging from 14 to 200 dollars, depending on the type of services required. Some scammers take advantage of citizens and residents through fake accounts and international phone numbers, where they communicate with the victim through “WhatsApp” and then invite them to buy materials in exchange for offers in local markets, which are often fake, in addition to options for purchasing digital currencies and investment, or calling to win prizes on condition of payment of a certain value, and accordingly, financial links bearing the names of local banks are sent, in order to defraud and steal phone data.

Member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, Bader Al-Amira, announced “temperatures are expected to reach below zero in the second half of January when the northwest winds begin to blow in the direction of the Arabian peninsula, reports Al-Rai daily. Al-Amira told the daily that “the second of January will witness the appearance of the last star of the square stars, which is the star of Al-Shoula or the tail of the scorpion, which will last for 13 days, and with comes to an end the first part of the winter season,” pointing out that “after the end of Al-Murabaaniyyah, “we will enter the second season, which is Al-Azreq, which is considered the coldest day of the year and is called by the Eastern Arabs (Mubki Al-Husni).”

Regarding the most important tips for dealing with the cold, Al-Amira said, “We advise the people to wear heavy clothes and not to make charcoal fire in closed tents, because coal in closed places may lead to suffocation, especially when sleeping,” noting at the same time that “it is advised not to allow children to play outside the house during the night to avoid exposure to cold for fear of fl u attacks. We also recommend that the elderly people avoid going out or get exposed to cold air after having bath to protect themselves from winter diseases.”