Dubai: Oman has decided to prevent the movement of people and close all public places and shops between 8pm and 5am from October 11 until 24, the Supreme Committee on COVID-19 announced today.
It also decided to prohibit the use of beaches throughout the day until further notice and to re-close some activities that were previously reopened and did not comply with the requirements set by the authorities.
The Supreme Committee called on everyone, especially young people, to fully adhere to all preventive measures at the individual and collective levels, and stop all family and social gatherings.
Relevant authorities will take all legal measures against the violators. The competent authorities will announce the details of the violators at a later time and publish their names in various media outlets.
The decisions were taken following reports of an increase in the number of cases and deaths due to COVID-19 among all ages.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of people in hospital wards and intensive care beds for the first time in the history of the health sector in the Sultanate, putting enormous pressure on the health system and the workers.
The Sultanate recorded another ‘undesirable” milestone close on the heels of reporting over 100,000 confirmed cases last week. On Wednesday, with the reporting of 10 more deaths, the number of COVID-19 related deaths touched 1,000.
Table leader
Oman has now become the second country in the GCC to report 1,000 deaths after Saudi Arabia, which leads the regional table with 4,923 victims.
Expressing concern over the issue, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health said that any decision taken by the Supreme Committee is based on the prevailing situation as per the epidemiological situation, and is subject to review again by the Supreme Committee.
He said that the decision on reopening schools was taken by the Supreme Committee and it will decide if it needs to be reviewed.
The minister said the controlling the infection is not only the responsibility of the government, but that of each and every member of the population as social gatherings continue to take place.
