(COLOMBO, LANKAPUVATH) –Sri Lankan expatriates returning to Kuwait have been requested by the country to undergo testing for coronavirus and to produce health certificates showing they are free of the deadly virus.
The Civil Aviation Authority in Kuwait has stated passengers who fail to produce health certificates will be denied entry.
The Authority said the action will be implemented from March 8.
In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said passengers arriving from Sri Lanka India, Egypt, Philippines, Bangladesh, Syria and Lebanon, in addition to Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia must undergo tests for the coronavirus and produce certificates showing negative results before boarding planes to Kuwait.
The civil aviation authority in Kuwait said the first seven countries, especially Sri Lanka, India and Egypt, have an estimated 2.5 million people, or almost three quarters of all expatriates, living and working in Kuwait.
The civil aviation circular said passengers from the 10 above mentioned countries must carry out COVID-19 tests at medical centers approved by Kuwaiti embassies in those countries, which must be attested.
In countries where there are no Kuwaiti missions, the tests must be attested by the health authorities in that country, it said.
The statement said passengers who do not produce the certificate will be barred from entering Kuwait and will be sent back on the same carrier, which will be fined.
Kuwait has in the previous few days banned the entry of nationals from infected countries, stopped issuing visit visas to citizens of a dozen countries and introduced restrictions on visit visas for some nationalities.
The ministry of health yesterday said no new coronavirus cases have been found, with the number of cases staying at 56.
