Saturday 14 / December / 2024
Latest: Oman bans entry of travellers from coronavirus-affected countries
Muscat: The situation of coronavirus in Oman, with all known cases having originated abroad, has now been classified as stage three. The country’s Minister of Health has said that plans are in place to stop the potential spread of this infection.
At a press conference organised to explain the country’s preparation for coronavirus, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saeedi explained this global classification system that is divided into five stages. “The first stage refers to the beginning of the emergence of the disease in a specific region, and the disease is said to be in the second stage when it begins spreading to others,” he explained. “The third stage sees the rise of infection cases to other countries in a particular region, or to countries in other regions that already have reported cases of infection. These cases are referred to as ‘incoming cases’ by countries to which the disease is being transmitted.”
“The fourth stage is when transmission of the disease between one person and another occurs locally,” he added. “The fifth stage is the last, when the disease becomes an outbreak that spreads locally and cannot be controlled. The second stage is classified as an outbreak by the World Health Organization, and we don’t want coronavirus to reach the fourth and fifth stages in Oman. All the measures we are taking are in line with recommendations from WHO and meet global standards.”
A major part of limiting the spread of coronavirus involves the quarantine of those who show its symptoms. It is this quarantine that also led to the curing of a second person who’d been diagnosed with the disease. So far, of the six people reported to have coronavirus in Oman, two have recovered.
Read also: More than 2,300 people quarantined in Oman to stop spread of COVID-19
The Minister said, “These two people were in self-quarantine, and they recovered at home. The other four are also in the process of recovering, and their condition at present is stable. Until March 2, 2020, there were 2,367 people currently under quarantine procedures. Of these, 49 persons are in institutional quarantine, and 2,318 are in domestic quarantine.
“This isolation is supervised by the Ministry and applies the standards of the World Health Organization, as part of which we provide advice and medical care,” added Al Saeedi. “Outbreaks such as the coronavirus, are not new to either the Sultanate or the world, which was, years ago, exposed to similar diseases such as SARS, swine flu and bird flu, all of which were more dangerous than this.”
“However, this does not mean you can underestimate the disease,” he urged. “Everyone must work within the necessary and important measures recommended by WHO and we have recommended them to the public, over and over, and we will continue to emphasise the need to follow them. Everyone must take care of public hygiene, and wash hands with soap and water several times a day, as well as use sanitisers that have alcohol content of 60 per cent or more, to eliminate bacteria and other microbes. “
“During this time, it is strictly prohibited to shake hands or rub noses with others – although these and many other social habits are prevalent in many Arab societies – because the most common causes of transmission is through physical contact with those who have the virus,” explained the Minister.
As part of its measures to limit transmission of COVID-19, particularly among schoolchildren, the Ministry of Health was in regular contact with the Ministry of Education as well as the Ministry of Higher Education. To stem further spread of the disease, the ministry was also liaising with the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) and the Royal Oman Police (ROP),World Health OrganizationWHOSARS, swine fluPublic Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA)Royal Oman Police which operate the country’s airports, seaports and border crossings, through which people from countries affected by the coronavirus could enter Oman.
“We had a meeting with the ministers of education and higher education, on Monday morning, to brief them on the latest developments from our side, and the reality of the situation on the ground,” said the Minister of Health. “We can affirm that, so far, there is no news of infection of any of our Omani students studying abroad.”
“As a result of this coordination, for now, direct flights to China and Iran have been suspended. The same goes for flights to Italy. The Ministry of Health is following up on developments on the epidemiological situation of coronavirus, periodically reviewing and assessing the degree of severity of the Sultanate, based on relevant information, and is communicating with other agencies impacted by public health emergencies.”
The Minister also refuted the claims of coronavirus infections in Salalah, and added that he was in communication with GCC and international bodies to coordinate efforts towards stopping the spread of COVID-19.
