‘Salad with no dressing’: Kuwaitis quibble in five-star quarantine

KUWAIT CITY, Kuwait: The meat is too fatty and the staff are slow to clean up coffee stains — some Kuwaitis quarantined in five-star hotels due to the coronavirus outbreak have a litany of complaints.

Authorities in the oil-rich country have forced citizens returning from abroad to isolate for 14 days in luxury properties before they are permitted to re-enter society.Kuwait has adopted the strictest measures in the Gulf to combat the spread of coronavirus. It has recorded more than 700 cases, and one death.

Plush hotels have turned into quarantine shelters, preparing to host around 60,000 Kuwaitis returning from countries including Italy, Germany, Iran, Egypt and Lebanon.The first batch arrived two weeks ago, and for some accustomed to the best in life, their accommodation has proven less than satisfactory.

‘Salad with no dressing’

“Dear minister of finance, the food has no taste, it is inedible and we’re throwing it away,” one woman, who did not reveal her face, said in a video uploaded online.“We are emotionally tired, and our health is deteriorating because the food is not nutritious,” she added as she examined catering trays delivered to her hotel room.

“They served us salad with no dressing, and everything else is also dry.”Her comments prompted a backlash online with some saying she should be grateful.“I stayed in a hospital for a week with my mother and did not complain, eating bread and cheese,” one Twitter user fired back.

Another uploaded footage of people in a developing country standing in line to drink water.“If only they saw how we opened our fridge to choose the (brand of) water we want. God, don’t deny us your generosity,” read the sarcastic caption. Kuwait, which pumps 2.7 million barrels of oil per day, has a sovereign wealth fund worth more than $600 billion, providing a substantial cushion for state finances.