KUWAIT CITY — Kuwait"s Ministry of Health recorded on Friday 1,519 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, marking a steady increase in the number of new infections over the last few days. Kuwait has been under a partial curfew and there is a ban on entry of non-Kuwaitis into the country as part of the country"s efforts to stem the resurgence of the deadly virus. The ministry also announced eight more deaths caused by complications caused by the infection over the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of confirmed infections in the country to 216,586 and virus-related fatalities to 1,210. According to the ministry’s spokesman Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad, there are currently 14,554 active cases in the country out of which 225 are receiving treatment in intensive care units. A total of 9,742 swab tests were conducted over the past 24 hours, raising the total number of COVID-19 examinations in the country to 1,951,691, Al-Sanad said. Earlier in the day, the ministry announced that a total of 1,273 more patients have recovered from COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, pushing the total number of recoveries in the country to 200,822. The spokesman urged citizens and expatriates alike that abiding by health precautions, mainly, following social distancing rules, is the only way to halt the spread of the virus. — SG