Kuwait Gets 200,000 Doses of Oxford-Astrazeneca Vaccine Minister Inspects Health Measures at Kuwait Airport
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JAMADA ALTHANI 19, 1442 AH MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2021 16 Pages Max 22º Min 07º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18349 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net UK opens visa scheme for With Amazon billions, Scott Libya peace brings back Palmeiras sink Santos to 7 millions of Hong Kongers 8 shakes up philanthropy 13 traditional weavers 15 win Copa Libertadores Kuwait gets 200,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine Minister inspects health measures at Kuwait airport KUWAIT: The health ministry Bader added. the COVID-19 pandemic. The airlines, announced yesterday that 200,000 The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in cooperation with the country’s doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vac- requires storage at a temperature ground services companies and local cine against COVID-19 will arrive at between 2 to 8 degrees Celsius. The laboratories, will conduct PCR exami- dawn today. In a press statement, vaccine has been approved by the nations of travelers arriving to the Assistant Undersecretary for Drug and European Medicines Agency (EMA) country, he added, underlining the Food Control Affairs Dr Abdullah Al- and the UK Medicines and Health health ministry will only monitor and Bader said the ministry authorized the Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) supervise these swabs. vaccine for emergency use based on a for use in people aged 18 and above. During Marafi’s tour, he commended decision by the joint technical commit- Meanwhile, Minister of State for the great efforts by the health ministry tee of the pharmaceutical and herbal Housing Affairs and Minister of State and the Directorate General of Civil medicines registration and control for Services Affairs Abdullah Marafi Aviation (DGCA) during this phase, department and the public health inspected at Kuwait International which played a vital and clear role to department for the evaluation and reg- Airport the latest regulatory and health confront the COVID-19 pandemic in istration of vaccines. measures following the Cabinet’s deci- various fields and sectors. He appreci- The first batch will arrive at dawn sion that airlines should conduct poly- ated the efforts of officials at the air- today in order to ensure that the min- merase chain reaction (PCR) tests on all port, including members of the interior istry does not delay its vaccination passengers arriving to the country. ministry and customs, as well as all program after verifying quality reports, In a statement to KUNA yesterday, workers at the airport to serve passen- evaluating the data of the product and Marafi said the task of checking pas- gers, facilitate arrival procedures and ensuring that the principles of good sengers arriving at Kuwait International ensure utmost health security. All trav- manufacturing are applied at the facto- Airport will be assigned to airlines to elers and workers in the airport build- KUWAIT: Minister of State for Services Affairs Abdullah Marafi, accompanied by President of ries producing the vaccine - according ease the burden on health teams from ings should abide by health controls the Directorate General of Civil Aviation Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah, to international standards - to ensure Kuwait’s ministry of health, which have and guidelines issued by MoH or inspects health measures at Kuwait airport yesterday. — KUNA quality in all manufacturing stages, exerted great efforts since the start of DGCA, he pointed out. — KUNA WHO team visits Wuhan Dubai announces market at heart of outbreak WUHAN, China: A team of WHO weighed down by political baggage, alliance to speed experts investigating the origins of has a remit to explore how the virus COVID-19 yesterday went to a market jumped from animal to human. But with vaccine delivery in Wuhan where one of the first report- the fieldwork element of the trip in its ed clusters of infections emerged over early stages, World Health DUBAI: Key transport hub Dubai yesterday a year ago, with one member tweeting Organization officials have already announced an initiative to accelerate the delivery the visit was “critical” to understanding played down expectations of finding of coronavirus vaccines, particularly to develop- the virus. Members of the group the source of a virus which has killed ing nations, after the WHO warned against aban- arrived at Huanan seafood market - over two million people and devastated doning the world’s poor. The Vaccine Logistics which has been sealed since January the global economy. Alliance, which includes Dubai-based Emirates last year - driving into its barricaded Yesterday, the WHO team visited airline and global logistics giant DP World, is premises as guards quickly blocked Huanan market and another wholesale designed to “speed up distribution of COVID-19 others from entering, according to AFP one, as part of a long-planned trip WUHAN: Members of a World Health Organization team, investigating the origins vaccines around the world through the emirate”. journalists at the scene. closely monitored by the Chinese of the COVID-19 coronavirus, visit the closed Huanan Seafood wholesale market The alliance will “support” the World Health The mission, delayed by China and Continued on Page 2 yesterday. — AFP Organization’s Covax initiative to distribute two billion vaccine doses, the Dubai Media Office said in a statement, without specifying how many Nov 26; but the rally turned into a rampage which doses it would deliver. “The distribution will par- Modi vows to left one person dead and hundreds of police injured. ticularly focus on emerging markets, where pop- Modi called the farmers’ assault on a historic fort ulations have been hard-hit by the pandemic, an “insult” to the national flag. His government has and pharmaceutical transport and logistics are pursue reforms insisted that the agriculture sector needs to be challenging,” it said. modernized, but farmers fear the deregulation laws The United Arab Emirates, which includes after farmer riot will place them at the mercy of big corporations Dubai and six other emirates, has administered that already dominate other industries. vaccines to more than a quarter of its population, NEW DELHI: India will push on with sweeping In his first public comments on Tuesday’s events, second only to Israel in the global race. The agriculture reforms, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi stressed that the government remained “com- WHO has urged wealthy countries to avoid said yesterday, as he criticized last week’s deadly mitted to modernizing agriculture”. “The efforts of repeating past mistakes of hoarding medicines riot in the capital following a long-running protest the government shall also continue in the future,” and vaccines, saying such behavior would only campaign by farmers. Thousands flooded New the Indian leader said in his regular monthly radio NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi drag out the pandemic. Delhi on Tuesday, driving tractors from border address yesterday. addresses the media upon arriving for the budget “We are all too aware of the challenges facing camps where they have been holding sit-ins since Continued on Page 2 session at the parliament yesterday. — AFP us globally in this pandemic and necessity to work together,” the UAE’s minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said in a tweet. “Vaccine nationalism should not be tolerated in our common battle to defeat COVID,” he said. Car bombs kill Covax, the globally-pooled vaccine procurement and distribution effort, has struck agreements 11 in north Syria with manufacturers for two billion vaccine doses, and secured options on a billion more. AZAZ, Syria: Car bombs killed 11 people including Dubai said the alliance will work with phar- six civilians in two separate incidents in Turkish- maceutical manufacturers, forwarders, and gov- held northern Syria yesterday, a monitoring group ernment agencies to transport vaccines, some of said. The first attack near a cultural center in the which have to be kept at very cold temperatures. town of Azaz killed six civilians including a young “Together, we are able to store a large volume of girl, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for vaccine doses at a time and bring in and distrib- Human Rights said. An AFP reporter at the scene ute vaccines to any point around the world with- saw a mangled car ablaze, black smoke billowing in 48 hours,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al- into the sky. A man rushed away from the site of the Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Airports and blast, carrying what appeared to be a child Emirates Airline. The UAE itself has suffered a wrapped in a bloodied cloth. spike in cases after the holiday period, after In the second incident, a car bomb targeted a aggressively opening up to tourism. But it checkpoint of pro-Ankara rebels near the town of reported 2,948 new virus cases yesterday, the Al-Bab, killing five fighters, the Observatory added. AZAZ, Syria: Civilians carry young victims at the scene of an explosion in this town in the rebel-controlled lowest number since Jan 11. — AFP Areas of northern Syria held by Turkish forces and Continued on Page 2 northern countryside of Aleppo province yesterday. — AFP 2 Established 1961 Monday, February 1, 2021 Local Amir receives Crown Prince, state officials Sheikh Nawaf condoles with Saudi King on death of Prince Turki bin Nasser KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets His Highness the His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets National Assembly Speaker Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. — Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al- meets Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Hamad Al-Sabah.