- Only vaccinated Kuwaiti citizens allowed to travel abroad.
- Travel ban goes into effect on August 1.
- Children under 16 are exempt from the new rule.
Kuwait authorities announced that only vaccinated Kuwaiti citizens will be allowed to travel abroad, effectively grounding a large part of the country’s 4.2 million population.
The blanket ban on foreign travel for the unvaccinated citizens was announced by government officials of the Gulf nation today. Starting from August 1, only vaccinated individuals will be allowed to go on foreign trips.
However, the children under 16, people with medical conditions preventing vaccination, and pregnant women will be exempt from the new rule and will be allowed to travel if they obtain proper certification from the nation’s health ministry.
The move effectively grounds a vast swath of Kuwait’s population under a foreign travel ban. According to the latest available data, Kuwait has administered over 2.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with around one million people so far – over 22% of the population – receiving two shots.
While the announcement was not exactly clear in regards to this matter, it apparently implies that only fully vaccinated people will be allowed to travel after the measure takes effect next month.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Kuwait has registered over 394,000 COVID-19 cases, with almost 2,300 people having died the disease.
