Author: Mark

Drive-In movie theaters have started making a comeback around the world amid the COVID-19 crisis. It makes sense since you’re isolated in your car away from everyone else. Sadly for us, the last standing drive-in movie theater in Kuwait was the Ahmadi drive-in pictured above and it got demolished last year. Maybe Cinescape can put together a makeshift one in some large parking lot because I really doubt normal cinemas are going to open up anytime in the near future.

Corona Care is a national counseling program that provides free counseling sessions to those affected the most by the COVID 19 pandemic:

– Medical health professionals on the frontline
– COVID 19 patients
– Individuals in institutionalized quarantine

Once you visit the website you’ll find a bunch of short FAQ videos and an interactive questionnaire you can take. Depending on how you answer the questionnaire you’ll be given different recommendations and if by the end of the screening you’re eligible for the free counseling, then you will be contacted to set up a counseling session with a mental health expert within the same week.

The sessions are held privately through an online platform and are completely confidential. If you think you need counseling and belong to one of the segments mentioned above, then check out the Corona Care website here.

How are you guys handling elevators right now? Do you share it? Has it stopped on a floor and you wouldn’t let someone from entering the elevator while you’re inside? Any drama yet?

In my apartment building where my elevator is around 1-1.5m square I’m trying not to share the elevator with anyone. If it stops on a floor and someone tries getting in, usually delivery drivers or workers, I tend to tell them to take the next lift. If they’re wearing a mask and glove I tend to let them share the elevator with me. If its a neighbor it’s usually more awkward, I haven’t told one I don’t want to share with them yet, some ask if I mind sharing which is the polite thing to do.

So how have you been dealing with it?

CoronaMaps Kuwait is a community-driven platform that is built by collaborating with multiple government and non-government organizations.

The platform is operated by volunteers with the goal of creating an information center for sharing community-related information during the Corona crisis in Kuwait. The site visualizes data collected from publicly available resources and will be mapping primary services like health care, home delivery of groceries, community responses and more.

The site launched yesterday night and is still in Beta phase but you can check it out by visiting coronamapskw.com

Puzzles and board games have made a comeback during this pandemic but if you’re looking for something a bit more advanced, then this is for you. Wood Crafter is a local online store that sells wooden models of ships, planes and buildings which you need to put together. Prices seem very reasonable when compared to LEGO but some of the models look incredibly complicated.

The website is pretty easy to browse so check it out here.
Also you can check out their Instagram account @wood.crafter

Yesterday an image and story went viral about a woman who was meant to be under quarantine spotted out shopping in a supermarket. She had entered the supermarket wearing an abaya covering the bracelet and was only discovered while she was waiting in line at the cashier. When confronted by employees she became loud and aggressive and in the end, left the supermarket with her groceries.

She was eventually caught with the help of the Shlonik app and was transferred to mandatory quarantine. Once the quarantine is over she will be referred to legal authorities. Source

I thought authorities would know if someone under quarantine left their home right away? Yesterday Concept15 on Snapchat was talking about how the authorities had called him up because they noticed his wrist bracelet hadn’t moved for some time. He told them the strap had broken so he left it on his desk. They told him to open the door because they were outside with a new one. So if they could tell that his bracelet hadn’t moved for some time, how could they not know when a bracelet completely leaves the home? Or maybe they did know and so were waiting for her outside her house when she got back? No idea.

These two videos embedded here document the Kuwait International Rally back in the 70s. One of the videos was shot in 1976 while the other 1978. Both feature a lot of great 70s style racing footage as well as snippets of Kuwait like the old Hilton Hotel and the Kuwait Towers.

These aren’t homemade videos but properly shot videos with groovy music and a 70s style British voiceover. It’s actually really entertaining to watch even if you aren’t into cars so please check both videos out.

Tareq Almulaifi is a Kuwaiti singer/songwriter whom I previously posted about a few years ago when he was living in New York. Since then he’s moved to LA and just a couple of days ago released his first track with his new band, Cobra Club.

For the past few years I’ve been really into 80s inspired cinematic synth pop music and Tareq’s new track “Razor” falls right into that category. It’s a great track which I’ve probably already played a dozen times since last night and the music video, which supposedly was shot on a low budget, is really well made and carries over the whole 80s vibe. Can’t wait to hear more of their stuff.

Make sure you check Cobra Club out on Instagram @cobraclubmusic and Tareq on @tarequlous. If you’d like to hear more music similar to this then check out my Spotify playlist “Not the 80s” where you’ll find some of my favorite tracks including Tareqs.

The MOH Instagram account posted the teaser above saying drive-thru testing is coming soon. I’m now kinda curious to see where they’d set these up, the old McDonalds on the Gulf Road would be a great spot since it already handled one of the longest drive-thru lines ever.

Update: I was just informed the first drive-thru testing location will be located at the Jazeera Airways Park & Fly facility. Will be getting more information soon.

Update2: Here is a photo of one lane they’re currently testing. There will be a total of 3 lanes when ready. 2 lanes for the rapid and swab test if u do not have a fever. 1 lane for the full test if u have a fever or if your swab test showed something wrong. You can have 4 people max per car and they will be able to process up to 100 cars per hour at this location.

[This is a spoiler-free post] I just wanted to take a break from the usual Coronavirus related news and talk about how great the TV series ‘Homeland’ was. The series finale aired yesterday and what a great ending to such a great show. I can’t believe it’s over after 8 seasons or that they managed to keep it exciting all the way through till the end. I’m so glad it went out the way it did.

If you haven’t watched ‘Homeland‘ you really should.

Yesterday I got an email from Qatar Airways letting me know that they’ve resumed daily flights from Kuwait until the end of the month:

Mr Makhoul, in these challenging times, we are here to support you if you need to travel home. We recently resumed flights from Kuwait so that you can now fly daily to select destinations, until 30 May 2020.

As we understand your travel plans might change, we are offering you more flexibility. You can change your date of travel free of charge, or exchange for a future travel voucher*.

Your safety, security and well-being are our first priority. As always, we provide the highest standards of hygiene on our aircraft, so your journey back home is seamless and safe

All flights are one way only and there is no mention that I need to fly specifically to my home country. So I guess I could fly out to any country that is currently allowing non-citizens/residents to come in. They had some offers mentioned in the email but when I checked their website none of the prices there matched the offers in the email. For example, a one-way economy ticket to London was listed as KD85 in the email but the lowest ticket price I found online was KD168.

I don’t think there are any other airlines flying out daily so I guess whatever they ask for you’re gonna have to pay if you want to leave Kuwait. Also if you’re Kuwaiti, it doesn’t seem like you’re allowed to fly out.

If you’re looking for a new quirky Instagram account to follow, check out @quarantineguykw. Quarantine Guy just recently came back to Kuwait from London and is now in mandatory home quarantine until May 22nd.

Everyone coming back to Kuwait right now has to install the Shlonik app which allows the government to track your whereabouts. Part of the process is that the app will throughout the day randomly check and see where you are and then request you to take a selfie to prove the phone is with you.

Quarantine Guy has started taking selfies with funny messages to whoever is checking the photos and he’s posting the screenshots on his account. Funny stuff so check him out @quarantineguykw

Update: Quarantine Guy just got a call from the Prime Minister!

شاهد || سمو رئيس #مجلس_الوزراء يزور مركز الإتصال والمتابعة الخاص بتطبيق #شلونك الصحي لمتابعة المواطنين العائدين من الخارج والخاضعين للحجر المنزلي. pic.twitter.com/wGJCEwEGRq

— الحقيقة (@ALHAKEA) April 30, 2020

Hall #4 at the Kuwait International Fairground has been turned into a pretty impressive field hospital. The hospital includes 200-beds, 40 ICU beds, 19 emergency beds, a pharmacy, and a pretty cool looking laboratory. This field hospital was put together by KOC and KIPIC and I think the other halls at the fairground are also currently being utilized one way or another to fight the pandemic.

I also read that they’ve started building a quarantine facility at the Jaber Al-Ahmad Sports Stadium that includes a field medical center, dormitories for medics and nurses, 5,000-beds, intensive care units, and pharmacies. As of now, 1,250 beds are ready while the rest under construction.

The Center For Government Communication released a visualization of how Covid-19 spread across Kuwait. Looks like Salmiya is safe 😅

Source @cgckuwait

Thanks xbs

Since the start of Ramadan, delivery drivers have been given a curfew pass so that they can deliver food from restaurants to people during curfew, 5PM to 1AM. But, if you’ve tried ordering the past two days you’ve probably run into a lot of restaurants being busy or closed, even though they’re meant to be open. Turns out the issue could be a lack of drivers during the curfew.

So roughly how it works is this, Company A’s drivers are allowed to deliver during the curfew. For those drivers to get the curfew pass, they must be registered under Company A. But, because Company A needed more drivers than they were given visas, a lot of the drivers are subcontracted from other companies and so working for Company A under the visa of a different company. This means those drivers can’t get a curfew pass and Company A is now operating with a smaller number of drivers.

Restaurants are already struggling as is and this obviously isn’t helping them. Yesterday night I felt like having a burger but all my favorite burger places were either marked as closed or busy. So just be patient and understanding of the situation. If a restaurant is marked as busy or closed check again in 10 minutes, it’s usually because the delivery app doesn’t have enough drivers. Also, some restaurants now allow you to order from their own online platforms and those don’t use Carriage, Deliveroo, or Talabat drivers. So if they’re busy on the apps, order from the restaurants own website instead.

Update: Deliveroo just posted that they will no longer be able to deliver after curfew and will now only deliver from 10AM to 2PM. Deliveroo is back to delivering again.