Monday 28 / October / 2024
Muscat: Expatriates who have gone to their home countries on leave are hopeful the entry ban against their nations will soon be lifted, so that they can return to Oman.
An entry ban against passengers travelling through 15 countries, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sudan, Egypt, and Tanzania, whose nationals form a significant portion of the expatriate communities in the country is currently in effect.
However, with case numbers now significantly lower in India, expats hope they will once again be allowed to disembark in Oman. COVID-19 infection rates in India have dropped from a peak of about 415,000 a day in the first week of May, to just above 100,000 on June 7, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Resource Center.
With the lifting of a number of restrictions that were adopted to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Oman, Indian expatriate Shiv Gupta is waiting for the entry ban to be lifted so that he can return to the country.
“We have been waiting for the airport to open to us for months now, and hopefully it will come soon,” said Gupta, a business owner in Muscat.
“The case numbers are dropping here as well, so I remain positive that we will be able to fly home in the coming weeks. With many businesses allowed to operate again, this will be a good time for us to resume our operations, so the sooner we get there, the better.”
Anuja Sharma, another Indian expatriate who has received both doses of her COVID vaccine while back home, also hoped people from banned countries would be allowed to re-enter Oman soon.
“When I did go to India on holiday, there was no entry ban in place, so I thought it would be okay for me to visit my family and return,” she said.
“When we heard that passengers from India and other countries were to be denied entry, it did not leave us much time to book tickets to come back. I decided to stay on in India, because I had the comfort of family here.
“My company has been okay with me working remotely for the past few weeks, but I hope that now things are gradually reopening across the world, it may not be long before we are allowed to board flights to Oman,” she added.
Shadab Niazi from Pakistan was also of a similar opinion. Caseloads in his country have also dropped, from a peak of nearly 8,495 in the first week of May, to less than 1,500 a day.
Despite being hopeful of a return to Oman for a while, Shadab said he was confident that it would not be long before Pakistani nationals are allowed to fly to the country.
“Like myself, there are many other Pakistanis who have our livelihoods in Oman,” he said. “For many of us, the nature of our work means we cannot do it remotely. Many of the others who are stuck here work in transportation, maintenance and the service sector, so we need to go back as soon as we are allowed.”
“We understand, of course, that the decision to implement the entry ban was not taken lightly, but when we heard the latest developments regarding the lifting of many economic restrictions in the country, it gave us hope that we too will soon be allowed to travel,” he added.
Filipino national Nina Valdez also flew to Manila to visit her cousins, both of whom had gotten jobs in Oman, and were looking to fly back with her. Their plans to come to the Sultanate, however, have been put on hold, since people travelling from the Philippines cannot enter Oman until further notice.
After peaking at about 15,000 infections a day in April 2021, the numbers have dipped significantly to about 7,200, and Nina is optimistic that should numbers drop further, they will be allowed to travel soon.
“My cousins intended to come with me to earn money for their families in our country,” she said. “We are looking forward to the day we will be allowed to enter Oman and take up our jobs, but until then, let us stay here and hope for the best.”
Currently, passengers flying through 15 countries are banned entry into Oman: Brazil, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, the UK, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia.
