Health minister reviews COVID situation in Dhofar

Oman Monday 19/April/2021 19:50 PM
By: ONA
Health minister reviews COVID situation in Dhofar

Salalah: Dr. Ahmed Mohammed al-Sa’eedi, Minister of Health, said that His Majesty Sultan Haitham, gave directives to study the extent to which the situation in Dhofar Governorate calls for the setting up of a field hospital amid the rate of propagation of coronavirus there.

In a statement during his field visit to Sultan Qaboos Hospital here today, the minister said that His Majesty the Sultan is in close follow-up of the pandemic’s developments in all parts of the Sultanate. “After the specialized technical team studied the capacity of Sultan Qaboos Hospital here, it appears that there are enough beds to cover the number of Covid-19 patients, but the hospital now needs extra supply of equipment and more medical staff,” said Dr. Ahmed.

The minister commended the role of medical staff there who, he said, exerted tremendous efforts to keep the situation under control. He urged all health workers to stick to precautionary measures and instructions issued by the Health Ministry, adding that “the protection of the medical staff and their families is considered a matter of top priority.”

The minister reaffirmed the disease can be controlled through a variety of means, the most important of which are vaccination, wearing of face masks, keeping physical distance among individuals and avoiding gathering. “Many countries managed to control the disease in this way, much before vaccinations were introduced. Therefore, it is significant that all should comply before the situation deteriorates and lest our health system might be overwhelmed,” he added.

Asked about developments towards the setting up of a new hospital in Dhofar, the minister said that steps are under way to expedite the project, despite a delay in finalizing designs due to coronavirus pandemic’s impact on many companies undertaking the project.

The minister pointed out that there are enough ventilation apparatuses and that there is no shortage in such equipment in Dhofar governorate or any other governorate. He also reaffirmed that test solutions are in abundant quantities and that a single solution is distributed to all governorates, but priority is given to Dhofar governorate due to geographical distance.

Dr. Ahmed said that more than 3,170 doses of vaccines are available in Dhofar. He called for quick action to distribute the vaccine to the target segments, including health staff and target age-groups. Vaccines are in abundance, but, unfortunately, there are being shunned by those who need them most due to rumours spread via social networks, said Dr. Ahmed, who explained that the turnout to vaccination centres is the least among other governorates.

Meanwhile, Sayyid Mohammed Sultan al-Busaidi, Minister of State and Governor of Dhofar, said that great efforts are being exerted by the medical staff to deal with coronavirus pandemic despite a spate in infections and deaths.

The Governor urged all to cooperate to keep the situation under control. He pointed out that non-compliance, social gatherings and failure to wear face masks are the most common and most serious causes of spread of Covid-19 disease. He deplored an observed non-wearing of face masks among youth.

Dr. Ahmed and Sayyid Mohammed went on tour of Sultan Qaboos Hospital’s sections and took note of patient reception procedures, particularly Covid-19 infection cases at the Emergency Section. They studied methods of hospitalization and health follow-up.