Feature: Novel coronavirus changes Kuwaiti lifestyle

Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-03 21:07:01|Editor: huaxia

KUWAIT CITY, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Since the first novel coronavirus case was reported in February in Kuwait, many Kuwaitis have changed their habits.

There are less people in malls, restaurants, and roads. People are wearing gloves and medical masks just for a regular visit to Co-op Societies (grocery stores).

While shopping in Adailiya Co-op Society, Aisha Al-Omar, a Kuwaiti resident, told Xinhua that precautionary measures taken by all governmental and private organizations make everyone feel comfortable.

As soon as she entered the grocery store, the worker wiped the cart with the sterilizer and handed her plastic gloves for the safety of customers, she added.

Meanwhile, Abu Ahmed, one of the customers also in Adailiya Co-op Society, praised the precautions in the Co-op Society and also the availability of all food commodities.

"After the Ministry of Commerce and Industry confirmed the availability of the strategic reserve of food, we were relieved, " he said.

In the Avenues mall, one of the largest shopping malls in the Middle East region and one of the most important tourist destinations of Kuwait, which was often visited by thousands of people daily, the number of customers declined recently due to fears of infection with the novel coronavirus.

An ice cream vendor at the mall told Xinhua that he had never seen the mall so empty of its customers since he worked here nine years ago.

Fear of the coronavirus has made many Kuwaiti women and residents cook at home.

Tamader Al-Moftah, a Kuwaiti housewife, said that her children used to have fast food for years, but the fear of infection with the coronavirus made them boycott restaurants.

Rana Ahmed, a Jordanian woman who works as a secretary in a Kuwaiti bank, said that she did not use to cook at home because of affordable prices of a variety of food and restaurants in Kuwait.

Now the fear of infection forced her to return to kitchen and prepare home dishes, she said.

The fear has also forced many Kuwaitis to cancel weddings and diwaniyas (a gathering place for men).

Many private companies have taken precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus by providing sterilizers to their employees and heat-measuring devices to ensure that they are free of the virus.

However, the spread of the coronavirus seems to have other repercussions in Kuwait, as some markets witnessed a price increase of some imported products.

Hashem Al-Fadhli, a local resident, said that he was surprised by the high prices of tablet screens.

Usually, changing the screen of a tablet costs 5 Kuwaiti dinars (16.3 U.S. dollars), but he changed it on Monday for 10 dinars.

"The seller said that the reason is due to the lack of the Chinese spare parts," he added.

The fish market in the Sharq area in Kuwait City was also affected by the increasing prices.

Citizen Fahd Al-Azmi said that the prices went up too much at the fish market.

"The fish 'Zubaidi' is now sold for 14 dinars per kilo and fish 'Shaem" increased to 3.5 dinars per kilo," he added.

Abu Musa, a fish seller at the market, said that the increase came due to the lack of Iranian fish.

"The only fish available in the market are Kuwaiti and Pakistani fish, and because the amount of supply is low, prices have risen," he explained.

The number of people infected with the novel coronavirus in Kuwait remains 56 till now.

Assistant Undersecretary of Kuwait's Ministry of Health Buthaina Al-Mudhaf said on Tuesday at a press conference that Kuwait did not record new cases during the past 24 hours, adding that all the 56 cases are in a stable condition and recovering.

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