Mon 18 May 2020:
Qatar and Kuwait announced on Sunday that people who fail to wear face masks in the two countries risk jail terms of fines amounting to thousands of dollars, as the fight against COVID-19 continues.
Kuwait and Qatar have started implementing harsh measures against people who do not wear face masks when in public, including $16,200 fine in Kuwait and $55,000 in Qatar, news agencies reported yesterday.
Reuters reported Kuwait’s Health Ministry saying anyone caught without a face mask could face up to three months in prison, while Qatari state TV reported the maximum penalty there would be three years.
The small Gulf country is battling one of the world’s highest coronavirus infection rates.
According to the Daily Mail, more than 30,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Qatar – 1.1 per cent of the 2.75 million population – although only 15 people have died.
Drivers alone in their vehicles are exempt from the requirement, but several expats told AFP that police were stopping cars at checkpoints to warn them of the new rules before they came into force.
Photo: People wear medical masks as a precaution against coronavirus, officially known as COVID-19, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on 26 February 2020 [Jaber Abdulkhaleg / Anadolu Agency]
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