The government of Kuwait was compelled to impose a partial curfew due to non-compliance with Ministry of health's instructions to stay indoors with the aim of curbing spread of coronavirus, a senior official said Saturday.

Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Anas Al-Saleh told a news conference after a cabinet meeting an 11-hour curfew would start as of Sunday at 5:00 p.m. until 4:00 a.m. the following day.

"Regrettably non-compliance with the Ministry of Health's instructions to stay indoors forced the government to impose the curfew," said Al-Saleh, also Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs.

He said the Civil Defense Committee would be issuing IDs for persons working in vital sectors so they could move during the curfew.

Anyone caught breaching the curfew will be jailed for up to three years and fined KD 10,000 pursuant to Civil Defense Law, warned the interior minister.

The military is on standby to help security forces in putting the curfew in place, quoting the cabinet as having tasked the National Guard with aiding the Ministry of Interior in this regard.