Muscat: The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced on Tuesday the death of six people due to Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll in Oman to 224. With this, the death toll in the past four days in Oman has gone to 31.
The MoH also announced 1,262 new cases of COVID-19 in the Sultanate, including 968 Omanis and 294 residents, which brought the total number of positive cases to 48,997.
According to the MoH, a total of 4,007 people were tested in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of tests in Oman to 217, 194.
The MoH also reported that 1,854 new patients recovered from Covid-19 during the past 24 hours, taking the total recoveries from the disease to 30,000 in Oman.
A total of 44 people were admitted to the hospital yesterday, taking the number of people in hospitals to 464, including 127 in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The ministry has called upon everyone to take individual and social responsibility and comply with precautionary measures, especially wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.
Dr Mohammed bin Saif al Hosni, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Health Affairs and a Member of the Supreme Committee, said that hospitals are teeming with patients who need health care, not to mention intensive care units.
He revealed during an interview on Oman TV, that staying in the intensive care room is not easy as some may believe, but it is great suffering in terms of isolation and exposure to many devices and medications.
Al Hosani added that during the past three weeks, 104 people died of COVID-19. More than half of them are Omanis. He asserted, since three weeks ago till now, the cases have doubled due to many reasons including lack of commitment, recklessness, and the continuous holding of events. "This also led to an escalation of the epidemiological curve, especially in the South and North Al Batinah governorates," he added.
Al Hosni also revealed that the Royal Hospital’s intensive care capacity has been increased to 100 beds. He stressed on the need to maintain physical distancing and adhere to the instructions, as "it is the only way to avoid infection with the virus" he said, adding that any respiratory symptoms, whether it is running nose, coughing or dryness of the throat must be COVID-19 unless proven otherwise.
“With the continuous rise in cases, we do not know how many more beds we may need in ICU rooms. I must indicate that it is not true what is being circulated that the virus has weakened and got less severe. Coronavirus knocks on every door, and we can beat him with simple preventive methods, and at the same time, we must coexist with the situation".
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