Kuwait has nothing to hide about coronavirus infections in the country

KUWAIT, March 12 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health said on Thursday it has nothing to hide about the novel coronavirus situation in the country, affirming that it utterly sticks to transparency and clarity.
"The ministry is eager to announce the number of coronavirus infections, given relevant ethical, professional and international dimensions," the minister's spokesman Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad told reporters.

"We are pursuing the principle of transparency and all confirmed infections in Kuwait have been announced," he said, pointing out international legal commitments in this regard.

He cited the ministry's plans for the monitoring and re-checking of all expats, including children, who have recently arrived in Kuwait as clear-cut proof of firm determination to contain the virus.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Health announced that eight people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the country's total number of confirmed virus infections up to 75.

Five of the new cases are Egyptians who had close contact with a previously announced patient who had arrived from Azerbaijan.
The other three cases are Kuwaiti citizens who had traveled back from Iran, the ministry said.

The pneumonia-like disease, known as COVID-19, originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December. It has ever since attacked many countries