No coronavirus cases in Oman

Muscat: Oman has confirmed that the country was free of the coronavirus that has claimed 16 lives in Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Health’s announcement followed the testing of over 50 cases of respiratory syndrome,

“Not a single case from the 50 tested was positive, confirming that we [Oman] are not affected by the new coronavirus,” a ministry source told Gulf News on Wednesday.

The cases were diagnosed by a special team of clinical technicians formed by the ministry to deal with cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome caused by the new coronavirus.

The team includes a group of specialists in infectious diseases, laboratories, infection control and internal diseases from the ministry as well as the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. “The committee has been entrusted with the task of dealing with possible cases of coronavirus,” the source added.

The team is tasked with developing a mechanism for dealing with suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus, ensuring the execution of infection control strategies in health institutions and application of specialising awareness programmes in fighting the infection.

Other tasks of the team include the development of standards for the transfer of suspected and confirmed cases between various health institutions (from primary health care institutions to hospitals and from referral hospitals to central hospitals).

A ministry official told Oman News Agency that they are constantly monitoring the diseases in coordination with officials in neighbouring countries and international organisations.