Oman ministry: COVID-19 fatalities, infections are very frightening

Dubai: COVID-19 fatalities and infections are very alarming and frightening, and this wave has been the worst so far, said Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Al Saeedi, Minister of Health, Member of the Supreme Committee on COVID-19.

The situation is quite exhausting for everyone, especially for the health sector,  as the pandemic continues to wreak havoc. We don’t know when this will end, the minister added.

It is not right to compare the number of deaths with other countries because each country has a mechanism and criteria for calculation. We will not give up transparency, he further said.

He made it clear that the Sultanate only allowed the use of safe vaccines and more than 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been received by the Sultanate so far, adding that 3.2 million vaccines will arrive starting next month. “We aim to vaccinate all target groups with a dose of the vaccine before the end of August.”

Speaking during the Supreme Committee meeting on Thursday, the minister said it is incorrect to say that there are no respirators in hospitals. He said the number of respirators is 1,144, and oxygen concentrators is 85, and the oxygen suppliers can meet the needs.

“It has been reported that the Minister of Health blames the citizens for the surge in cases. This is not true. Our duty is to advise people to abide by the procedures, Al Saeedi said, adding that partial closure is feasible and the simplest example was Dhofar. During Ramadan, cases were very high and when the decision was taken to close, the cases dropped.

“There are questions about what will happen to those who refuse to take the vaccination and if they are from target groups. It is a subject of discussion among several bodies, including the Supreme Committee, and everyone knows that most of the deaths during April were of people over the age of 60 who refused to be vaccinated, minister said.

“The number of in-patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units has exceeded 464 cases, while the number of doctors who have been deployed since the beginning of the pandemic has reached 2,064 despite the global shortage of professionals in this sector,” he clarified.

40 pregnant women in ICUs

“It was announced that pregnant women should be given priority in vaccination for obvious reasons. Yesterday, 40 pregnant women were in intensive care units and there was a danger to them and the fetus… We call on them to get the shots to protect themselves and their families,” Al Saeedi said.

For his part, Salim Mohammad Al Nuaimi, Undersecretary of Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Transport, in charge of steering Civil Aviation Authority, said that some of the excluded categories of those coming from India are Omani citizens, medical staff and cargo. “We cannot close the airport. The primary objective of operating aircraft to India is to transport passengers from Oman”.

Also speaking during the conference was Dr. Saif Al Abri, Director General of Diseases Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health. He said that a global system was established to monitor virus mutations and the Sultanate is part of this initiative and participates in genetic sequencing.

“The rate of spread of the virus has increased by about 80% during the current wave in the Sultanate due to mutated strains. Yesterday only 8,000 laboratory tests were carried out for COVID-19, and the positivity rate is 23 per cent.