Academics and experts in political, economic and social fields say they believe the government’s hesitation to reopen the country and bring back its normal life exacerbates problems and comes as a sign of confusion and poor planning, reports Al-Qabas daily.
They stressed that Kuwait won global praise at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis because of the good precautionary measures it implemented to prevent the spread of the epidemic.
However, these measures have unfortunately turned into stifling economic restrictions and led to prolonged closure of many activities, which in turn created more serious diseases than this novel coronavirus.
The experts and specialists expressed their surprise at the continued disruption of life in Kuwait at a time when the neighboring countries preceded Kuwait in opening up to rescue their economies, and prevent further deterioration in the financial, social and other aspects.
They strongly criticized the government for its reluctance to manage the plan for the return to normalcy, and the apparent reluctance to open various areas of life again.
The experts explained that the government’s mismanagement of the crisis has very serious economic impacts along with social and psychological impacts that threaten the cohesion of family and society.
Thousands of companies and projects are on the verge of bankruptcy due to the continued closure of life. Thousands of expats have reached the level of poverty as they are unable to meet their daily food needs and pay their financial obligations such as house rents and monthly installments of their cars.
This raises fears of creation of new crime patterns in the coming period. Meanwhile, psychological and social experts revealed that there is an increase in drug addiction rates among the youth of both sexes in light of the current situation, adding that there is also an increase in the rate of divorces and family disintegration as well as mental illness including anxiety and depression sparked by inactivity, lack of movement and restriction of people’s freedom.
They stressed that the night curfew is pointless, and the government should quickly abolish it. The experts highlighted the fact that the level of awareness of citizens and expats concerning preventive measures has increased, due to which this exaggerated fear is not logical, adding that the whole world has started coexisting with “coronavirus” due to which life should return to normal soon.
Source : Arab Times
