Sunday 01 / December / 2024
Muscat: As the situation with respect to the new COVID-19 mutant variant (Omicron) continues to evolve, the Sultanate of Oman may introduce additional measures to contain the spread of the virus.
An official from the Ministry of Health confirmed to Times of Oman that the Sultanate may take some strict measures to confront the new mutant of COVID-19, including obligating all passengers coming to the Sultanate to undergo a RT-PCR examination inside the country on their arrival to ensure that they are free from infection.
The Director of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health has said that the Omicron mutation is concerned with the structure and properties of its spinal protein.
Dr. Amal bint Saif Al Maani, Director of the Department of Infection Prevention and Control at the Ministry of Health, has said to Oman TV that the concern about Omicron is with the structure and characteristics of the spinal protein of this mutant, which may evade natural immunity and vaccines, but this is yet to be confirmed.
Al Maani confirmed that the Omicron mutant was classified as high-risk according to the last meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO), based on preliminary information received about the genetic sequence of the mutant and the gaps that it can cause to a patient who has immunity from a previous infection or taking the vaccine.
“In addition to the high number of inpatients in the countries in which it has spread, it is also not certain that all of these cases are linked to the new mutant,” she added.
She continued, “In order to know the effectiveness of vaccines against the new mutation, we need to know the percentage of inpatients who received the vaccine.”
Meanwhile, Oman banned entry of arrivals from seven African countries to confront the Omicron virus.
