COVID-19: Oman yet to reach virus peak, 83% of country’s cases under the age of 50, says top health official

Merge 104.8  |  19 May 2020

Coronavirus cases in Oman are yet to reach the peak, one of the country’s top health officials has confirmed.

Speaking in an interview this evening [Tuesday, May 19] with Oman TV, Mohammed bin Saif Al Hosni, Undersecretary for Health Affairs at the Ministry of Health (MoH), said that while cases in the Sultanate continue to move in an upward trend, the situation is deemed as normal by health officials.

Al Hosni also confirmed that up to 72,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the country thus far, with 111 patients currently hospitalized. Of these 111 cases, 33 patients are in intensive care, with 30 of them requiring the support of ventilators.

The Undersecretary also stated that 83 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in the country are within the 15-50 year-old age categories, with 66 per cent of all cases occurring among residents, of whom 82 per cent are male.

Al Hosni also reaffirmed that maintaining social distancing precautions is the most effective way to curb the continued rate of COVID-19 infection in the short-term.

(Also read: Gallery: Here’s how Oman’s aviation industry is fighting back against COVID-19.)