Oman Update: Several measures in place to fight COVID-19

Muscat: To tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the Sultanate, Oman has announced several measures to reduce the spread across the country. While all schools and educational institutions suspended studies from Sunday, all travelers entering the Sultanate from all points of entry (land, sea, and air) including Omanis will be quarantined from March 17, 2020. 'This is in accordance with the decisions issued by the Supreme Committee entrusted with investigating the coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 15, regarding imposing the quarantine on all travelers entering the Sultanate from all points of entry (land, sea, and air) including Omanis,' the Ministry of Health(MOH) on Tuesday said in a statement. MOH also urged all travelers entering the Sultanate from the various points of entry from March 02, to adhere to home or institutional quarantine and in case of any symptoms, contact the MOH Contact Center. Meanwhile, the MOH on Tuesday announced the recovery of three patients of the Covid-19, taking the total number of recovered cases in the Sultanate to 12. With the reporting of three new cases on Monday, Oman has now 24 cases of Covid-19 in total. All cases are in stable condition and they are under home isolation. Apart from avoiding public or worship places, citizens and residents have been urged to keep on washing hands with water and soap, avoiding touching face, eyes, and nose, following the healthy habits when coughing and sneezing, and avoiding going to the cinemas. Furthermore, MOH calls upon all to avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary, as well as following the precautionary measures during religious rituals and family and social gatherings. MOH has urged people to adhere to the quarantine procedures as instructed and avoid public and worship places. In addition, it advises keeping on washing hands with water and soap as well as avoiding touching the face and eyes and following the healthy habits when coughing and sneezing, and avoiding attending the cinemas. Furthermore, MOH calls upon all to avoid traveling unless absolutely necessary as well as following the precautionary measures during religious rituals and family and social gatherings. The Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR) has issued two ministerial decisions pursuant to the decisions of the Supreme Committee on Covid-19. As per the In its first article 2020/94, it closed the public parks during the period decided by the Supreme Committee. The second article stipulated the implementation of this decision on March 17. The ministry had asked all hotel establishments and other related facilities to halt all social gatherings including weddings, celebrations and other events in the halls and the interior and exterior spaces of hotel establishments as of ‪Tuesday (March 17). The Public Authority of Civil Aviation (PACA) has clarified that all flights — both passenger and cargo — will continue to operate at Muscat International Airport. “The reports being circulated about the closure of the airports are not true. We would like to state that all the airports in Oman are operating as per schedule,” PACA said in a statement.