Muscat: More than 100 people in Oman died from COVID-19 during the month of March, a significant increase over the numbers of people who lost their lives to the disease in February.
A report on Oman TV said 104 COVID deaths took place in March, with a daily death rate of 3.5 people.
Comparatively, the death rate in February was 1.6 persons a day. In January, it stood at one death a day, down from December, when the daily death rate was 2.3 persons.
The highest average daily death rate in the Sultanate since the start of the pandemic was seen in October 2020 (9.7 deaths), while the lowest was in January 2021. The report added that the death rate in the country is alarming.
The Ministry of Health has also reaffirmed that everyone who lives on the soil of the Sultanate must responsibly follow the precautionary measures so that we remain safe while more vaccinations for COVID-19 arrive.
More than two million additional doses have been booked and are expected to soon reach the Sultanate.
“The country is witnessing economic and health issues that call for the solidarity of everyone in the country, from the government to its people, to get through this,” said Dr Mohammed Al Wardi, an economic analyst in the country.
“People should be patient, unite, and understand that measures taken by the government are taken to avoid worsening the current situation.”
He also asked people to not needlessly criticise organisations that were working to alleviate the effects of the pandemic.
“Criticism is healthy, but unnecessarily criticising someone is cruel and indignant – doing so will not solve our problems,” added Al Wardi.
“Instead, it will only increase our gloom and create more sadness among people. Let us have compassion for ourselves and each other.”
The Majlis Al Shura also released a statement expressing concern over the recent increase in the numbers of hospitalisations and coronavirus-related deaths.
“The Health and Environmental Affairs Committee in the Shura Council has followed up on the statistics related to cases of infection and deaths from the coronavirus in the Sultanate, and affirms the need for everyone to adhere to the precautionary measures,” said the body.
“It recommends that efforts should be strengthened to provide a greater number of vaccines and to expand the target groups for immunisation to include all segments of society.”
The Shura Council also recently hosted many representatives of the Omani Medical Association and Muscat Private Hospital to seek advice on the articles of the proposed draft laws covering patient rights and safety.
As of April 1, a total of 160,018 cases of COVID-19 had been recorded in the country, while 144,639 people had recovered from the disease, at a recovery rate of 90.3 percent. 1,681 people, have died from the virus. ICU admissions stand at 160, while 515 have so far been admitted to hospital.
