COVID-19 Live: No decision yet to re-open airports, nearly 24% of total cases in Oman are in Seeb

Merge 104.8  |  25 June 2020

Speaking today [Thursday, June 25] at the 11th press conference of the Supreme Committee for COVID-19, Oman’s Minister of Transport, H.E. Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Futaisi noted the following points:

— The return of civil passenger flights are still under discussion and observation.

— There has been a significant decline in business for airlines and there has been a decrease of more than 50 per cent in the aviation sector’s contribution to Oman’s GDP.

Also speaking at today’s press briefing was Dr. Saif bin Salim Al Abri, Director General of Disease Surveillance and Control at the Ministry of Health, who noted the following:

— Yesterday [Wednesday, June 23] there were 400 COVID-19 cases recorded in Dhofar, 102 of them among Omani citizens.

— Based on these numbers they decided to close and lock down the central Salalah area and there are large-scale efforts to test more expats and quarantine more patients in institutional isolation facilities, with 80 patients currently in quarantine in Dhofar.

— To date, there have been a total of 172,000 COVID-19 tests carried out and health authorities are conducting an average of 3,500 to 4,500 tests per day.

— Nearly 24 per cent of total cases are coming from the Wilayat of Seeb in Muscat Governorate, and cases within the Omani population are now starting to surpass expatriate numbers.

— Cases of infection in the expat population are occurring mainly in labour camps, with one camp of 2,067 workers recently ordered to shut down in Rusayl.

(Also read: COVID-19 Live: Oman records 27,000 new cases in a single month.)