DUBAI: Kuwait’s foreign ministry has urged its citizens to postpone their travel dates due to the global increase in coronavirus infections, state news agency KUNA reported.

The ministry said the spike in cases had forced countries to change their safety measures, including imposing lockdowns and cancelling or delaying flights.

Meanwhile, unvaccinated UAE citizens will be banned from leaving the country from Jan. 10, the country’s foreign ministry and the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authorities announced.

The UAE on Saturday reached another record high in daily coronavirus infections with 2,556 cases confirmed, state news agency WAM reported.

The World Health Organization warned that a COVID-19 “tsunami” was expected to overwhelm health care systems, as record surges fueled by the omicron variant dampened New Year celebrations around the world once again.

Governments are walking a tightrope between anti-virus restrictions and the need to keep societies and economies open, as the highly transmissible variant drove cases to levels never seen before in the United States, Britain, France and Denmark.