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Kuwaiti influencer faces investigation for promoting 'coronavirus test'

Kuwaiti influencer faces investigation for promoting 'coronavirus test'
Fouz al-Fahad is fashion influencer facing investigation for promoting a 'coronavirus test' device. (Instagram)
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Updated 24 March 2020

Kuwaiti influencer faces investigation for promoting 'coronavirus test'

Kuwaiti influencer faces investigation for promoting 'coronavirus test'
  • Media reports said the Kuwaiti health ministry had referred Al-Fahad to the general prosecution
  • The influencer shared a video of herself holding the product which she claimed can be used to detect the new Covid-19 virus

CAIRO: Kuwaiti social media influencer Fouz Al-Fahad has been referred to the public prosecutor after promoting to her followers a device she claimed detects the new coronavirus.
Media reports said the Kuwaiti health ministry had referred Al-Fahad to the general prosecution for investigation after she promoted the product on social media.
The influencer shared a video of herself holding the product which she claimed can be used at home to detect the new Covid-19 virus, with an accuracy of 95 percent.
Al-Fahad later deleted the video, and then shared a new story saying she was not promoting the product and did not mention its brand name or price. 
Kuwaiti lawyer Bashar Al-Nassar revealed in an interview, news channel Etbilarabi reported that the influencer could face a one-year jail term and could be fined up to 1,000 Kuwaiti dinars in penalty. 
“When you show a device and describe its properties, then this is an advertisement for the product, and this is prohibited by the health ministry,” the lawyer said. 
The 29-year-old fashion influencer announced last week that she married a Kuwaiti businessman. 
But Al-Fahad revealed that a lot of the couple’s plans were abandoned amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“We had a lot of plans prepared that we had to cancel because we have to abide by the country’s laws and, of course, we want everyone’s safety,” she said in a Snapchat video. 
In recent weeks, Kuwait has enforced a string of precautionary measures to contain the spread of the infectious disease.