COVID-19: Resumption of activities in Oman must not cause health disaster, says minister
‘Unlikely life will return to normal before January 2021,’ warns Dr. Ahmed Al Saeedi
Muscat: At the 14th press conference of the Supreme Committee, Minister of Health Dr. Ahmed Al Saeedi spoke about a wide range of points pertaining to the COVID-19 situation in Oman. He noted the decision to allow 60 to 70 per cent of government staff to return to work saying that the heads of the government units may decide on the percentage they need to provide the services to citizens and residents.
The Minister informed that more than RO 4 million out of the RO 32 million donated towards the pandemic is left to be utilised. The fund constituted by donations includes a generous RO 10 million from HM.
Dr. Ahmed reiterated that it is unlikely that life will return to normal before January 2021. “And when vaccination is available and its safety, efficiency and effectiveness are proven, this will be a criterion for the return of near-normal life.”
Social gatherings
Among the other points he clarified were the ending of a ban for those above 60, the need to ensure precautions to curb the spread of infections and most importantly to avoid social gatherings. He also informed that a Technical Committee has been assigned to identify the activities that cannot be resumed and that the opening of activities including mosques is being reviewed by specialised teams.
On the topic of opening land borders and airports, Dr. Saeedi said that it will be discussed by the Supreme Committee and appropriate decisions taken. “A dedicated press conference will be conducted later to discuss the start of the schools and its related procedures. We have contacted relevant authorities in the sports sector to know how ready they are to adhere to the precautions if sports activities are to be resumed. We must ensure that the resumption of activities will not cause a health disaster,” the Minister said.
Dr. Seif Al-Abri, General Director of Disease Control and Control at the Ministry of Health said that the Tarassud + app on smartphones will soon have a self-reporting feature for suspected cases and the app will be made available in five languages.