Kuwait has banned until further notice commercial flights to 31 countries it said that it regarded as high risk due to the spread of the coronavirus, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation was quoted as saying by Reuters in a report carried by Saudi Press Agency.

The ban was announced the same day Kuwait began a partial resumption of commercial flights, the report said.

The authorities have said Kuwait International Airport would run at about 30% capacity from Saturday, gradually increasing in coming months, it added.

The countries include India, Pakistan, Egypt, the Philippines, Lebanon and Sri Lanka, which all have large numbers of expatriates in Kuwait, an Arab News report said. The list also includes China, Iran, Brazil, Mexico, Italy and Iraq, it added.