New COVID cases dip below 1,000 for first time in 29 days

Muscat: For the first time in nearly a month, Oman recorded less than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 in a single day.
Updates from the Ministry of Health show that on Tuesday, July 28, 2020, Oman registered 846 fresh cases of the disease. 771 of those who tested positive for it were Omanis, while only 75 tests among expats came back positive for the coronavirus.
The last time Oman recorded less than a thousand cases on a single day was on 29 June, 2020, on which 910 cases came to light. On that day, 535 Omanis and 375 foreign nationals tested positive for COVID-19.
At that time, there were a total of only 39,060 cases of the disease in the country. 22,422 people had recovered by then, while nearly 190,000 tests had been conducted.
COVID-19 cases in the country have nearly doubled since then, while the recovery rate has gone up nearly two-and-half times: as of 28 July, the country reported 77,904 cases of COVID-19, with 58,587 of those who’ve tested positive for it having successfully recovered.
The country has conducted more than 300,000 tests on locals and expatriates, while 402 people have sadly lost their lives to the coronavirus. 528 people are currently in hospital, while COVID-19 patients also account for 181 beds in intensive care units.
Ahead of Eid Al Adha, which falls on Friday, 31st July, a lockdown was instituted in the country to reduce the spread of infection. Under the rules of the lockdown, people are not allowed outside their homes after 7pm, and travel between governorates has been stopped, until 8 August.
Asking people to follow the precautions put in place to stop the rise of infections in Oman, Dr. Ahmed Al Saeedi, Oman’s Minister of Health, said recently, “We remind everyone that the days of Eid Al Adha are approaching, and we hope that these days will not lead to an increase in the number of cases, the spread of the disease, and a high number of deaths.
“You must consider that anyone near you is a carrier of the virus, so you have to be committed to physical distancing, wearing face masks and washing hands,” added the minister. “We are all partners in this battle, and you are our greatest support.”