Muscat: The first two cases have been tested positive for coronavirus in the Sultanate, said the Ministry of Heath on Monday. The two cases are for two Omani women coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The ministry confirmed that the two cases are in stable condition and they are at home.
The ministry calls on all citizens and residents coming from countries which are affected by the coronavirus to stay at home.
The ministry also urged the citizens to avoid travel to these countries unless it is necessary.
In this regard, the Public Authority for Civil Aviation said on Monday that all flights between the Sultanate and Iran will be suspended until further notice.
Earlier, the first case of the new coronavirus was detected in Bahrain and Kuwait, both countries said on Monday, citing health ministries.
According to Bahrain’s Ministry of Health, the patient was a Bahraini citizen arriving from Iran.
Kuwait, on the other hand, said three people, including a Saudi national, who returned from Iran were infected by the new coronavirus, state news agency KUNA reported.
The three cases, the first in the Gulf state, were among the 700 people evacuated from the northeastern Iranian city of Mashhad last week, KUNA said, Reuters
The Public Authority for Civil Aviation has issued a circular 1/2020 to all airlines operating in the Sultanate. This circular is based on statement 6 issued by the Ministry of Health on February 2, regarding the epidemiological situation of coronavirus disease.
In a statement, PACA said it would like to inform all airlines operating in the Sultanate to adhere to the following instructions:
The airlines cooperating with travellers who express their unwillingness to travel to the countries where it has recorded cases of infection with the coronavirus, in terms of returning the value of tickets for the tickets booked without deducting any fees announced in the conditions of the ticket.
As for non-refundable tickets, they are processed by giving the traveller the choice between issuing a ticket with a new date upon issuance of instructions from the concerned authorities enabling them to travel or issuing a voucher for the value of the travel ticket valid for a year without deduction of any fees declared in the conditions of the ticket.
The authority called on airlines to put these instructions into effect as of the date of its issuance.
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