Kuwait: Covid-19 PCR tests only from designated labs for incoming UAE passengers

Passengers arriving in Kuwait from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, will soon be added to a list of countries, travellers from which must undertake their pre-departure Covid-19 PCR tests only from Medical Utility Network Accreditor (MUNA) approved laboratories.

In a circular issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation – Kuwait this week, it said that all airlines operating at Kuwait International Airport are required to verify that the PCR tests for passengers from 11 countries on the list have been undertaken at the pre-approved laboratories and that the negative results of the tests are not older than 72 hours.

The directive was already in place for passengers arriving from India, Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

However, it will be applied to passengers from Bahrain, the UAE and Turkey from March 25th; Qatar and Oman from March 27; and Saudi Arabia from March 28.

الطيران المدني : بدء تطبيق نظام MUNA لشهادات فحص ال PCR للركاب القادمين لمطار الكويت الدولي pic.twitter.com/go3J90nQEp

— الطيران المدني (@Kuwait_DGCA) March 16, 2021

In February, Kuwait said that it was banning the entry of non-Kuwaiti nationals until further notice. However, along with Kuwaiti nationals, their first-degree relatives and accompanied domestic workers, exemptions were also granted for diplomats and medical personnel, along with their accompanied family members, and minors below the age of 18.

On March 7, in a bid to control the spread of the virus, Kuwait imposed a 12-hour nightly curfew – from 5pm to 5am – for one month.

Arrivals in Kuwait currently have to undergo mandatory institutional quarantine for seven days at a hotel and seven days at home. Upon arrival in Kuwait, they will be subject to a PCR test at the airport, and another one on the sixth day of institutional quarantine. The passengers must bear the costs of their tests.

There will be exemption of institutional quarantine for minors below 18, medical staff and their families, students, Kuwaiti patients returning after receiving medical treatment abroad and diplomats and their families, among certain other categories, who are exempt from mandatory institutional quarantine in Kuwait, but must quarantine at home for 14 days and undergo two PCR tests – one on arrival and the other on the 6th day of their stay, the cost of which they will have to bear.