Friday 31 / January / 2025
Muscat: Muscat: Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Sa’eedi, Minister of Health, Member of the Supreme Committee tasked with tackling developments resulting from coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, said that the directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik to the Supreme Committee focus on protecting public health and the life of all.
“Accordingly, nobody’s life will be exposed to risk and no action whatsoever will be undertaken except on the basis of available epidemiological data,” the minister added.
The minister made the statement during the COVID-19 Control Supreme Committee’s 16th press conference held at the Ministry of Education on Thursday.
Dr. Ahmed pointed out that, one day, the health sector in the Sultanate crossed the 190 Intensive Care Unit patient-mark, a precedent in the sector’s history.
He urged all to stick to preventive measures and cautioned that the registered deaths are not only among the old-aged or people suffering from chronic diseases. A proof of that is the death of a 15-year-old person, along with the demise of patients in the age-group of less than 20 years. “It is a serious disease and the journey to the shores of safety requires the cooperation of all,” said Dr. Ahmed.
The minister called up all travellers to shoulder their responsibilities and to know precautionary measures adopted by other countries where the passengers wish to go. Omanis have to obtain health insurance to cover their COVID-19 tests and treatment, if any. He reiterated that passengers arriving into the Sultanate have to undergo a 14-day health quarantine.
Speaking about donations, the minister said that the total sum of COVID-19 donations stood at OMR33,188,162 of them OMR10 million as a generous contribution by His Majesty Sultan Haitham. Of this sum, a total of OMR29,150,193 has been spent so far.
The minister said that as many as 2,848 infection cases were registered among medical teams in the Sultanate since the outbreak of the pandemic. Of these, one doctor and one nurse died, said the minister, noting that 22 percent of the cases of infection in medical crew happened in health establishments, 42 percent in society and 36 percent of unknown sources.
Dr. Ahmed explained that the most important indicators to know about the seriousness of the disease do not cover the number of titeric tests. Instead, they are based on the numbers of people hospitalized and admitted to ICUs. The technical team at the Ministry of Health is considering the reduction of the health quarantine period, the minister said.
He added that a contract was concluded over the past few weeks with an international firm specialised in conducting diagnoses at the level of the Sultanate. An increase in the number of tests will be observed, he said.
Dr. Ahmed said that a decision on the opening of mosques has been left for the Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs. The mosques will be monitored to check that they abide by the precautionary measures, said the minister, who stressed that meetings are underway between him and officials concerned at the Ministry of Health and that a joint committee was formed to look into the matter of mosques, pending the decision of the Ministry of
Meanwhile, Dr. Abdullah bin Nasser Al Harrasi, Minister of Information, Member of the Supreme COVID-19 Control Committee, commended the efforts of public awareness exerted by all media organizations, including the radio, the television, the newspapers and electronic websites, in addition to activists in social media.
He hailed the efforts of all media in explaining the risks posed by the disease, means of infection and precautionary measures which aim at safeguarding the health of all people in society and protecting them against the disease’s multiple impacts. The media has a role in combating rumours and addressing wrong information about Covid-19 and causes of infection with the disease and its methods of treatment.
The minister said that the role of the media combines with the efforts of the State under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik whose main concern is to protect individuals and society.
The media’s role was not limited to spreading information about the disease only through the publishing of precautionary measures and methods of protection. This role expanded to cover the dissemination of scientific knowledge in an unprecedented manner that keeps abreast of developments of diseases in general and established methods of protection against them, he added.
Dr. Abdullah pointed out that exposing of offenders by publishing their names in the media has been discussed in the Supreme Committee’s meetings but no decision so far has been taken to enforce the threat. “The Committee is fully aware of gatherings in farms and other places, and these types of assembling are closely monitored and the idea of (blacklisting) public announcement of names of offenders is still an option, but we do not want to take this approach,” said Dr. Abdullah.
He explained that COVID-19 taught us a lot and alerted us to many aspects of the problem in which we did not focus before due to the nature of normal life. Some of these (positive) sides include the practice of direct import to the Sultanate, the development of practical ways to benefit from sciences and knowledge and distance learning, among other aspects which can be of use in future, said the minister.
On his turn, Eng. Said bin Hamoud Al Ma’awali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, said that the 7th package of activities and businesses will be approved by the Supreme Committee in its next meetings. Eleven new commercial activities have been discussed in the previous meeting of the Committee and 3 of these activities have been resumed, while the rest remain closed due to the high rate of infections, Eng. Al Ma’awali explained.
He added that, in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Committee, international flights will be resumed with effect from 1 October depending on health data of the selected destinations and the agreements governing such flights. Also by that date, domestic flights will be operated between Muscat and Salalah, he said.
Al Ma’awali pointed out that the travel of citizens and foreigners will continue without the need for approval that precede travel, depending on health procedures. He added that similar steps will be applied in the case of travellers returning to the Sultanate, including COVID-19 insurance for non-Omanis.
The minister said that the issue of visas was discussed during the meeting of the Supreme Committee and that priority will first be given to citizens and residents who hold valid residency visas and the rest will follow.
Al Ma’awali pointed out that public transport services will be opened next Sunday and explained that ship crew have been allowed to change shifts in the Sultanate’s ports, a good indicator about the increase in vessel traffic.
The Minister noted that the pandemic was an opportunity to reactivate Omani ports, enhance their direct routes and increase the rate of import. He added that, shortly, the Sultanate’s ports will be connected with the ports of Colombia, Kuala Lumpur, Jeddah and the Al Sakhna port in Egypt.
In the meantime, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Dr. Mohammed bin Nasser Al Za’abi, has reaffirmed the preparedness of the civil aviation sector to undertake its mission in accordance with the approved plans after the Supreme Committee endorsed the 1 October 2020 as a date for resumption of international air traffic in the context of health data about the selected destinations and relevant agreements.
Al Za’abi pointed out that the CAA, acting in advance much before the development of coronavirus into a global pandemic, took precautionary measures to protect society and workers in the field of civil aviation in the Sultanate against Covid-19 that might be transferred through air travel from other countries.
Speaking about statistics of air traffic for the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 August 2020, Al-Za’abi said that the total number of incoming and outgoing flights in the Sultanate stood at 3,882 that carried about 680,000 passengers and more than 20,611 tonnes of goods. Muscat air traffic control centre managed 58,751 air flights that passed through Omani airspace which remained open before transient international flights, said Al-Za’abi.
He added that the airports of Oman that are open before non-scheduled air flights in the Sultanate are also subject to assessment in terms of commitment to health and safety protocols at airports and onboard aircraft.
He explained that tomorrow, Friday 25 September, Oman Airports Company, under the supervision of the Civil Aviation Authority, will carry out a trial assessment of the preparedness of the PCR testing lab at Muscat International Airport.
Al Za’abi unveiled a traveler’s guide to be made at the Authority’s website (caa.gov.om) and that the guide will include all the information and instructions necessary to be applied by departure and arrival passengers via the airport. The guide will be updated as necessary, he said.
Al Za’abi added that, following the decision of the Supreme Committee on 7 September 2020, international air flights will be resumed from 1 October 2020 at limited level of regular scheduled flights between Muscat International Airport and the airports of some GCC states, Asia, Europe and Africa. The aim is to provide air travel between the Sultanate and other countries in the world within a fixed network of airports and in line with bilateral agreement between the Civil Aviation Authority and its counterparts in those countries.
Scheduled international flights will be resumed, while at the same time operating domestic flights to airports within the Sultanate during the current period, which will be followed by a stage of assessment of the health situation and the economic feasibility towards the resumption of international flights fo the rest of destinations, said Al Za’abi.
He noted that the aviation sector in the Sultanate underwent heavy losses due to coronavirus pandemic and that, since the closure of Omani airports on 29 March 2020, international traffic dropped considerably at a rate of 90% for passengers, but this percentage began to gradually decrease and it is hoped that 1 October 2020 will constitute a new start.
Speaking about international flights using the Omani airspace, Al Za’abi said that their daily number is dropping down to 150 aircraft, compared to 1,600 in 2019, a decline of more than 85 percent. He explained that, since the Omani airspace remained open, the number of airplanes using it is now picking up at a daily rate of 500 to 600.
Al Za’abi explained that revenues of the Civil Aviation Authority dropped by 50 percent and Oman Airports Company’s by a similar percentage (50%). Equally, Oman Aviation and other civil aviation firms suffered heavy losses, taking the total losses of the civil aviation sector in the Sultanate to more than OMR200 million during the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Dr. Saif bin Salim Al Abri, Director-General of Disease Surveillance and Control at the Ministry of Health, said that procedures governing the entry of any person arriving into the Sultanate from abroad will be by registration in Tarasud Plus app. Those who arrive for a stay of more than 7 days will have to undergo a quarantine period, while at the same time wearing tracking bracelets. This will be applied to all arrival passengers, whether by land or air, said Dr. Saif, who pointed to the availability of PCR test for arrival passengers via land and air routes. He spoke, without elaborating, about “a new mechanism for arrival passengers via land checkpoints”.
Giving more information, Dr. Saif Al Abri said that the Ministry of Health conducted 2,910 tests yesterday and that the number of tests conducted in the Sultanate so far crossed the 376,000 mark. He added that, so far, we have no proof that a COVID-19 patient has been infected twice, but, he explained, “The virus could often remain in the body of the patient for a period of more than four months.”
Dr. Saif Al Abri reaffirmed that the health system in the Sultanate is still intact, both at the level of primary healthcare centres and at the level of hospital. He added that the preventive procedures and public health procedures are still 100% functional.
Dr. Saif advised any suspected person or anyone who shows symptoms of COVID-19 will be treated as a patient.
