Feature: Daily life changes in Kuwait amid coronavirus outbreak

Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-31 22:19:20|Editor: huaxia

KUWAIT CITY, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The coronavirus pandemic is changing the lifestyle of Kuwaiti people.

Most people are confined now to their homes as the government has stepped up curbs on movement and social contact in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus.

As Kuwait has implemented a partial curfew, closed its borders, airports, businesses, and suspended schools, people are adopting new habits in their daily life.

Dona Ahmed, a 29-year-old teacher, told Xinhua that since they suspended school, she has spent more time with her family.

"The longer you stay at home, the more creative you will be. I was happy and relieved at first but after a while, I was bored and started new hobbies," she said.

"I started to sew clothes, but eventually cooking was the answer and I try now new recipes every day and my husband cannot be more proud," she said with a smile.

Moustafa Ezzat, a 41-year old salesman, also joined the "cooking club."

"There is no place to go and no work to do now, so I helped my wife in the kitchen," he said, adding that "I realized that it really takes a lot of time and efforts to prepare a meal."

"Last week I stuffed and rolled grape leaves, the worst part was folding the grape leaves and it is a disaster if you did not put the right amount of filling," he explained.

Susan El-Saket, a 39-year-old housewife, said that the quarantine was not a challenge for her because she is used to stay at home.

"The problem started when my husband stayed at home. Since the barbershops are closed, my husband volunteered to cut my son's hair and my child ended up bald," she said.

Mena Hegazy, a university graduate, said that she was about to start her new job but after the coronavirus outbreak, the employer fired her.

Meanwhile, she did not give up and started to take online courses to learn new skills and languages that she could use in the future.

"We can turn this crisis into a learning opportunity," she added.

During the quarantine, people in Kuwait started to get involved more in social media. Some started sport challenges on social media platforms to remain fit while some others made staying at home challenges to encourage people to stay indoors.

The Kuwaiti government decided to impose a nationwide curfew to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

On March 13, Kuwait suspended all commercial flights. The government also decided to close stores, malls and barbershops.

Kuwait reported 23 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 289.

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