RAJAB 23, 1442 AH SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 2021 16 Pages Max 25º Min 11º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18377 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Scientists look beyond solar Lebanese dread end to The unstoppable revenge Kohli hails India comeback 5 system for traces of life 8 subsidies as crisis bites 13 of the mullet hairstyle 16 as rout seals England series Exempting vaccinated arrivals from hotel quarantine mulled All registered over-65s vaccinated • 12-hr curfew begins • PACI sets new timings KUWAIT: Health ministry assistant undersecretary avirus. Kuwait has since Feb 7 cut opening hours for for public health Dr Buthayna Al-Mudhaf said the non-essential retail shops and banned non-citizens ministry is contemplating excluding those who have from entering the country, but a steep increase in received the coronavirus vaccine from institutional cases in the past week has forced the government quarantine upon their return to the country, and to take more stringent measures. they will only have to quarantine at home. She said People may walk to mosques to perform prayers technical committees are studying the issue accord- during curfew hours, while pharmacies and food ing to a methodology based on the latest scientific shops must use delivery services and all public parks studies and recommendations of international health and recreational areas will be closed. Those who organizations, adding that the report will be submit- break the rules, which also include mandatory use of ted as soon as the study is completed. face masks outside the home, can be fined as much Meanwhile, Mudhaf said all people aged over 65 as KD 5,000 and jailed for up to three months. who had registered for the coronavirus vaccine The country had imposed some of the strictest have been inoculated - both citizens and expats. measures in the Gulf during the first wave of the However, she said only 17.4 percent of those eligible pandemic over the summer, enforcing a nationwide to receive the vaccine have registered, calling upon lockdown with few exceptions. Like most Gulf citizens and expats to quickly register for the jab. countries, Kuwait’s economy and state budgets have Kuwait yesterday said 1,318 people tested posi- been hit hard by the economic fallout of the pan- tive for COVID-19 with seven related deaths, taking demic combined with the low price of oil. total cases to 199,428, while deaths rose to 1,120, Meanwhile, The Public Authority for Civil according to the health ministry. On Friday, 1,613 Information (PACI) announced yesterday the work- KUWAIT: Nine-martyrs ñ eight Kuwaitis and a Saudi - who had been missing since the 1990-1991 Gulf War, people tested positive with eight related deaths. ing schedule to receive the public during the partial were buried yesterday after their remains were identified recently. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat (See Page 2) Kuwait will impose a 5 pm to 5 am curfew from lockdown approved by the Cabinet beginning today today until April 8 in a bid to contain the coron- Continued on Page 2 munities at Ur, traditional birthplace Pope, Sistani of the Prophet Abraham (PBUH), a central figure in the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, where he made an Rapid COVID tests call for peace impassioned plea for “unity” after conflict. The 84-year-old pontiff’s trip sell out on first BAGHDAD: Grand Ayatollah Ali to Iraq is an effort to both reassure Sistani, one of Shiism’s top clerics, the country’s ancient but dwindling day in Germany told Pope Francis in a historic meeting Christian community and expand his in Iraq yesterday that the country’s dialogue with other faiths. FRANKFURT: Germans flocked to supermarket Christians should live in “peace”. The His meeting with the grand ayatol- chain Aldi yesterday to snap up the first rapid coro- meeting, on the second day of the lah in Najaf lasted 50 minutes, and navirus tests to go on sale nationwide, with stocks first-ever papal visit to Iraq, marked a Sistani’s office put out a statement selling out within hours. Rival discounter Lidl mean- landmark moment in modern religious shortly afterwards thanking Francis while saw its website crash after it started offering history and in terms of Francis’ efforts for visiting the holy city. Sistani, 90, at-home testing kits for sale online. “We want to to deepen interfaith dialogue. “affirmed his concern that Christian assure anyone who left empty-handed that new Pope Francis later addressed the citizens should live like all Iraqis NAJAF: Pope Francis meets top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani in this stocks are coming in the next days,” an Aldi rich spectrum of Iraq’s religious com- Continued on Page 2 Iraqi shine city yesterday. — AFP spokesman told the Bild newspaper. The German government is relying heavily on rapid tests to steer country through the next phase of the pandemic as citizens tire of coronavirus shut- Strip. The inferno, which local authori- downs but the pace of vaccinations remains slug- Gaza girl dons ties said was caused by a gas leak, left gish. From tomorrow, all Germans will be entitled to 25 dead and dozens injured, and rav- one free rapid test a week, carried out by a profes- aged several shops. sional at pharmacies or designated testing centers. mask to heal Today, she and her mother, who Several manufacturers have also received regu- was also seriously injured on the face latory approval for DIY tests meant for home use. burnt face and hands, wear transparent plastic The goal is to give people more freedom after masks developed by medical charity months of closures and limits on socializing, but Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The experts have stressed that the quick tests are less GAZA: The moment Maram Al- 3D-printed mask puts pressure on the reliable than standard PCR testing and that the usu- Amawi gets back from school, she face and advances the healing al hygiene precautions should be maintained even slips on the 3D-printed mask that process, explains Firas Suergo, head with a negative result. covers her face and treats her severe of physiotherapy for MSF in Gaza. Aldi is limiting the purchases to one packet per burns from a blaze at a Gaza bakery. The patient’s face is copied using a person, containing five tests for €24.99 ($30). The But she doesn’t go out in the streets 3D scanner, which then allows the test is done with a nasal swab and delivers a result for fear of being made fun of. Eight- printing of a customized plastic mask. within 15 minutes. Lidl’s offer is similar and costs year-old Maram was severely burned Since the launch of the project in GAZA: Palestinian girl Maram and her mother Izdihar Al-Amawi get fitted with a €21.99. Tests will also go on sale at major drug store a year ago in the Palestinian refugee April 2020, which has also been run in 3D-printed transparent face mask at a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders in chains and other outlets in the coming days. camp of Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Continued on Page 2 Gaza City on Feb 22, 2021. — AFP Health Minister Jens Spahn, already under fire over Germany’s slow vaccination pace, has prom- ised there will be “more than enough” rapid tests for everyone, including 50 million free tests a month. meters forward, turned in place 150 But critics have questioned whether local authorities Perseverance degrees to the left, and then backed are ready to cope with the expected huge demand. up 2.5 meters, leaving tire tracks in Manuela Schwesig, the state premier of the Martian dust. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, said supermar- Mars rover “This was our first chance to ‘kick kets were better prepared than the federal gov- the tires’ and take Perseverance out ernment. “I fail to understand why rapid tests are goes for ‘spin’ for a spin,” said Anais Zarifian, now being sold by discounters but have yet to be Perseverance mobility test bed engi- ordered for daycares and schools,” she said. WASHINGTON: The Mars rover neer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Germany has struggled to bring down COVID-19 Perseverance has successfully con- Laboratory in Pasadena, California. rates in recent weeks, with numbers plateauing ducted its first test drive on the Red Zarifian said the test drive went and even rising on some days. The country added Planet, the US space agency NASA “incredibly well” and represented a 9,557 new coronavirus cases yesterday and said Friday. The six-wheeled rover “huge milestone for the mission and another 300 deaths, according to the Robert Koch travelled about 6.5 m in 33 minutes on the mobility team”. This image was captured when NASA’s Perseverance rover drove on Mars for the Institute. —AFP Thursday, NASA said. It drove four Continued on Page 2 first time on March 4, 2021. — AFP 2 Established 1961 Sunday, March 7, 2021 Local Nine human remains identified and returned after 30 years Martyrs, including Saudi citizen, went missing during Iraqi invasion KUWAIT: Nine martyrs - eight Kuwaitis and a Saudi - who had been missing since the 1990-1991 Gulf War, were buried yesterday after their remains were identified recently. Interior Minister Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali Al- Sabah and other senior officials attended the funeral ceremony. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat KUWAIT: Under the Tripartite Commission’s umbrella, may gain closure in the near future. remains in question had been found at a burial site in nection with the 1990-1991 Gulf War.