Muscat: While Oman has lifted a ban on travellers from various countries including UK, which were on a banned list, UK still has placed Oman in its red list. Hamish Cowell, the British Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, shared a message in this context that was conveyed through Oman’s British Embassy Twitter handle,
The Ambassador’s note read: “I know many in Oman, whether British nationals, Omani students preparing to study in the United Kingdom or others, will have been disappointed to see the travel restrictions to the UK remain in place after following latest review.
"I understand the disappointment. The Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) assessment process is highly detailed and covers a range of issues including genomic sequencing capability, COVID-19 transmission risk and variant transmission risk.
“The JBC cannot share data provided by other governments to inform that process. But the embassy is working exceptionally and closely with the authorities in the Sultanate, especially the Ministry of Health, to make progress in this regard.”
Strict conditions are stipulated for travellers from countries that are placed in UK’s red list, including a COVID-19 test taken three days before date of travel with a negative result, booking a quarantine hotel package that should include two more COVID-19 tests and filling in a passenger locator form.
