Pinoys told to postpone Kuwait trips from Mar. 7-14

The 34-year-old Calgary resident said his decision was firm, even when he was initially told he’d have to pay hundreds of dollars to rebook. (Pixabay photo)

MANILA – The Philippine embassy in Kuwait on Saturday called on Filipinos to postpone travel to Kuwait from March 7 to 14 following a circular suspending all flights to and from the Middle Eastern country and the Philippines for one week.

“To avoid any inconvenience caused by this latest circular from the Kuwaiti government, the Embassy advises all Filipinos to postpone to a later date all their travels to and from Kuwait, originally scheduled from 7 March 2020 to 14 March 2020,” it said in an advisory.

Kuwait’s one-week travel ban to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) was announced via Circular No. 27 by its Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The suspension of flights covers seven countries including Bangladesh, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt.

At present, personnel from the embassy and Philippine Overseas Labor Office-Overseas Workers Welfare Administration are assisting Filipinos who are affected by the restriction at Kuwait International Airport.

As of Saturday, Kuwait has confirmed 58 cases of the Covid-19 while the Philippines has registered six cases since the outbreak started in Wuhan, China in January.

“Finally, the embassy continues to encourage the more than 240,000 Filipinos in Kuwait to take precautions in order to stay healthy during this time,” the embassy said.