KUWAIT: “Kuwait is swine flu free,” said a senior Ministry of Health (MoH) official on Tuesday, revealing that the data for January indicated that no new cases of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus had been detected.
MoH Undersecretary Dr. Ibrahim Al-Abdulhadi stressed that the ministry is committed to continuing its preventive plan to guard against any reappearance of the disease.
The third wave of the disease is due to end by the end of this week, Dr. Al-Abdulhadi revealed, with no new infections being found among either citizens or residents.
The undersecretary made his announcement following a meeting with the Higher Committee for Combating Swine Flu, during which discussion focused on the plans to deal with the third wave of the disease and any potential cases of infection. The committee will remain committed to honoring the contracts which it signed with pharmaceutical firms regarding the purchase of medication to treat the disease, he added.
On another issue, the undersecretary revealed that the health ministry has requested a meeting with Civil Service Commission (CSC) officials to find solutions to the problems surrounding the introduction of the fingerprint staff attendance system. This follows reports that nursing staff have been starting their shifts late due to having to queue up to use the system rather than being able to simply clock in and out as they did previously, reported Al-Qabas.
Dr. Al-Abdulhadi revealed that among the potential solutions presented to date is a recommendation to excuse nurses from using the system, allowing them to use a different one instead. Another proposal is to provide additional fingerprint attendance recording equipment. The undersecretary said that a decision on which solution will be introduced is expected from the CSC shortly, since it is responsible for the implementation of the system in all public sector departments.