Muscat: The government on Monday warned that hospital inpatients are likely to go up in the coming days, which can put an extra burden on the healthcare system just like in the second quarter of this year.
Speaking at the 28th press conference of the Supreme Committee, Dr Ahmed Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health, stressed the need for taking the third dose or booster to increase protection against the Omicron strain.
He said that the number of infections witnessed an increase in recent days and added it is the government’s duty to protect members of the society and maintain public health, as the health sector underwent a rough time in the previous year.
"There is no plan, at the time being, to make the booster dose mandatory and it is very early to discuss the possibility of administering an annual dose against Covid-19," said Dr Ahmed.
The latest decisions taken by the Supreme Committee will be effective till January 31, 2022, if the situation does not get worse, as all decisions are prone to be reviewed as per the epidemiological situation.
On the possibility of lockdowns, the minister said that the Supreme Committee will not take measures that might affect the economy or social life, but it will still make appropriate decisions if forced to do so. "We are counting on the awareness of citizens and residents to contain the spread of the virus by adhering to precautionary measures."
Vaccination centers are open in all governorates and wilayats of the Sultanate of Oman and vaccines are available free of charge for citizens and residents.
As of Sunday, 95,277 have received the booster dose, which is the four percent of the target groups. The Sultanate of Oman has 16 confirmed cases of Omicron and there are 90 suspected cases.
Dr Saif Salim al Abri, Director General of Disease Surveillance at the Ministry of Health, said that the Omicron cases have been registered among vaccinated people. “Their health condition is stable.”
He added. "The booster and third dose are the same, but the only difference between them is the scientific term, as the third dose is a basic dose for people who have immunodeficiency and must wait for one to three months after the second dose, while the booster dose is taken by everyone above 18 years to stimulate immune system".
Field studies say that two doses of the vaccine give about 22 per cent immunity against Omicron variant while the third dose offers 75 per cent.
MOH officials said that around 230,000 citizens and residents have not received any vaccination dose so far, which means community immunity has been not reached yet.
Of the target groups, around four per cent of Omanis are yet to get the first dose and 10 per cent the second dose.
The person who died on Sunday of Covid-19 (the first in 49 days) was an unvaccinated elderly citizen.
On Monday, 69 new cases were reported. One person was admitted to hospital taking the total number of inpatients to 11, including two in ICUs.
Other highlights of the press conference include that schools have not seen an increase in the numbers as teaching staff and students strictly follow precautionary measures.
The authorities mentioned that the movement between the Sultanate of Oman and the United Arab Emirates is continuing, and the validity of PCR tests have been revised to 14 days only for citizens of both countries.
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