Kuwait has banned until further notice commercial flights to 31 countries it regards as high risk due to the spread of the coronavirus.
The list issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation includes India, Pakistan, Egypt, the Philippines, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, which all have large numbers of expatriates in Kuwait.
It also includes China, Iran, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Iraq.
The ban was announced the same day that Kuwait began a partial resumption of commercial flights. The authorities have said Kuwait International Airport would run at about 30 per cent capacity from Saturday, gradually increasing in the coming months.
The health ministry also advised against all non-essential travel at the present time, government spokesman Tariq al-Muzaram said on Twitter.
Kuwait, which has recorded nearly 67,000 coronavirus cases and more than 400 deaths, began a five-phase plan at the start of June to gradually lift COVID-19 restrictions. A partial curfew remains in place.
The Republican-controlled US Senate passed President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill on Tuesday, signing off on a massive package that would enshrine many of his top domestic priorities into law while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
More than a thousand schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the region.
Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, in a major setback for a government under fire on multiple fronts and fighting for its survival.
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington's pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.