olympics Pages 15 & 16 THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT markets Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com Page 9 FRIDAY-SATURDAY, AUGUST 6-7, 2021 / ZUL-HIJJAH 27-28, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17756 16 PAGES 150 FILS CDC PUTS KUWAIT IN HIGH-RISK CATEGORY FOR COVID Un-vaccinated 91.1% of COVID dead New cases 718 Opinion Kuwait likely to implement VAT KUWAIT CITY, Aug 5, (Agencies): Some KUWAIT CITY, Aug 5, (Agencies): Kuwait will most likely imple- According to the report, the oil exports and local gas consumption 91.1 per cent of the Any chance to get ment the Value Added Tax (VAT) this year or next year, says the will continue to be the driving forces behind the economic growth of latest World Bank report on the economies of the member-nations of Kuwait as the country still relies on oil as its main source of income. people who died from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). As part of measures taken in view of the corona pandemic, the GCC COVID-19 in July out of the dilemma? The World Bank also predicted that the economy of Kuwait will countries provided unemployment insurance; while fi ve of them includ- were not vaccinated, increase by 2.4 percent within 2021; followed by a projected 3.2 per- ed health insurance in their support measures, that is, except Kuwait. Kuwait Health Minis- cent growth in the next two years — 2022 and 2023. These measures somehow mitigated the dire consequences of shortened It presented projections for Kuwait on the following economic in- work hours and closures in a bid to curb the spread of corona. try spokesperson Dr. By Ahmed Al-Jarallah dicators: Closures, curfew and lockdowns in the GCC were equated to the Abdullah Al-Sanad ■ Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), percent change: 2.4 in 2021, Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times loss of 3.3 million full-time jobs, with Kuwait and Oman going be- said on Wednesday. 3.6 in 2022 and 2.8 in 2023 yond the international average of working hour losses — equal to ■ The remaining four per cent IS there a chance to get out of the economic and so- CPI infl ation rate, percent average: 2.0 in 2021, 2.3 in 2022 and more than 400,000 full-time job losses in 2020. received one dose, while 4.9 per 2.5 in 2023 The World Bank expects the economies of GCC countries to start cial dilemma that was imposed on us because of either ■ cent received two doses, added alignment or conflict of interests between opportunistic Government Revenues, percent GDP: 29.8 in 2021, 31.7 in 2022 recovering this year, based on the expected international economic the official. and 42.1 in 2023 recovery and increase in demand for oil. political forces that took religion as a cloak for them to ■ The nationwide COVID-19 Government Expenditures, percent GDP: 52.5 in 2021, 51.0 in Also, budget defi cits will probably continue in most countries. vaccination campaign is ongoing achieve their goals, and the influential people in power 2022 and 50.4 in 2023 who benefited from the abnormal situation until Kuwait ■ However; Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman which recorded the biggest at 101 centers, he said, mention- Fiscal Balance, percent GDP: -22.6 in 2021, -19.3 in 2022 and defi cits last year will continue to be in defi cit in 2021 to 2023, but the ing that daily appointments have reached this dangerous slide? -8.3 in 2023 ■ percentage will be lower than in 2020. reached 100,000. The answer is yes, provided there is a supreme will to General Government Gross Debt, percent GDP: 13.7 in 2021, 27.3 The tangible results of global remedy all the accumulated negatives, starting with the in 2022 and 44.1 in 2023 — Full Report Pages 5 & 6 vaccination campaigns call for restrictions imposed on people, in line with the view- optimism, said Dr. Al-Sanad. points of Islamist groups, through laws that contradict This is demonstrated in the re- religion, tradition and culture of the Kuwaiti society, ductions to fatality rates and in- which is based on openness and acceptance of the other. tensive care admissions. These laws involved silencing women, prohibiting The main path to ending the co-education system in place of the current system, pandemic’s repercussions has which incurs the public budget millions of dinars an- become determined by vaccine nually, and the absence of an economic strategy, which turnout and maintaining adher- ence to health measures, he un- is boosted by the phenomenon of official bodies being derlined. controlled by those who seek to monopolize everything in the country, even the air, in the absence of oversight Decline and supreme follow-up. Despite the announcement There is no doubt that any trend towards development made by Ministry of Health re- is based on the decision of the leaders of a country - garding the decline in the indica- any country - especially if they sense the presence of an tors of the epidemiological situ- economic malaise that involves irresponsible practices ation in Kuwait in terms of rates by the concerned authorities, or because people’s minds of new COVID-19 infections and bed occupancy in the intensive are being tampered with by harnessing some forces and care units, Washington news all available tools to direct the society in one way. agencies have reported that the This is what led to the closure of the country to the US Centers for Disease Control whole world until it became a laughing matter, espe- and Prevention (CDC) has issued cially in the issue of preventing the co-education sys- a warning to its citizens against tem. traveling to Kuwait, regarding it Here we are not talking about the complex and failed as a “high-risk” country, reports measures to confront the COVID-19 pandemic. We are Al-Seyassah daily. talking about an approach that has been ongoing for On the other hand, the offi- forty years, while Kuwait prevents the issuance of visas cial spokesperson for Kuwait’s Ministry of Health Dr. Abdul- except under difficult conditions. lah Al-Sanad said, “The recent This is happening at a time when the European Union period witnessed a decline in the is issuing a single visa that allows roaming in several indicators of the epidemiological countries. Now citizens of some countries are allowed situation in terms of the rates of to enter without a visa, as is the case with the Saudis new COVID-19 cases and the and Emiratis. They are now allowed to roam the Euro- cases requiring intensive care pean Union without a visa for about 90 days as long as treatment. the visitor can spend on himself and has a return ticket The rate of decline in new CO- to his country. VID-19 cases is about 28.3 per- Unfortunately, the Kuwaiti “Garden of Eden”, which cent compared to last week. The decline in active cases is about is firmly established in the minds of some, is almost 25.5 percent. It is about 18.4 an economic hell because of the political shortsighted- percent in the COVID-19 wards, ness in development. In university education, the Gulf while 8.4 percent in the intensive countries have become a destination for students from care units. The ratio of infection abroad, but in Kuwait, it is limited to those within its case and swab tests carried out is borders only despite the presence of many private uni- In this July 31, 2021, Landsat 8 satellite Operational Land Imager (OLI) image taken in natural color and provided by NASA, wild- 2.23 percent”. versities. fires burn near the coastal towns of Manavgat, (left), and Alanya, (right), along the coast in southern Turkey. Inset: A nurse treats Dr. Al-Sanad expressed his an exhausted Turkish volunteer as they fight wildfires in Turgut village, near tourist resort of Marmaris, Mugla, Turkey, Aug 4. (AP) The health sector, which can easily transform into an hope that the decline will con- additional source of national income through its priva- tinue in the next stage, coinciding with the increase in the pace of tization and the imposition of health insurance on ev- vaccination for both citizens and eryone, is not better off, despite the fact that the state residents through the national spends on this sector almost equal to the budgets of de- Newswatch vaccination campaign in its vari- veloping countries. Back to ... work ous branches and centers in all For its development, modern and luxurious buildings governorates. KUWAIT CITY, Aug 5, (KUNA):The Kuwaiti Cabinet agreed, are not sufficient, but rather the need of a conscious and KUWAIT CITY: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf In the weekly update of the capable management, which will only happen through in an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday, on returning to pre- Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent, Thursday, a congrat- map issued by the US Centers for the private sector. coronavirus regular working hours at all government bodies as of ulatory cable to newly-elected Iranian President Ebrahim Disease Control and Prevention There are those who will say that expatriates use the August 15. Raisi on swearing the oath. and its assessment of the epide- infrastructure, and benefit from its cheapness, and that Following the meeting, which was held under chairmanship His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al- miological levels of the spread of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime of the COVID-19 virus around opening the country will burden the public services.