Dubai: At several hospitals across Oman the occupancy rate in the intensive care units for COVID-19 patients has reached 100 per cent.
The hospitals that are now totally full are the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah and Khasab Hospital.
The total number of patients admitted to hospitals in the Sultanate for COVID-19 has reached 751, the largest number since the start of the pandemic, Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammad Al Saeedi, Minister of Health revealed.
There are now 234 in ICUs and 1,789 deaths in total, the minister said during the Supreme Committee’s press conference held to discuss the latest developments of coronavirus.
The minister noted that reasons for the increase in cases is due to new strains and lack of compliance with precautionary measures.
“The virus has mutated more than once and failure to comply with precautionary measures such as gatherings are among the reasons for the increase in the number of virus cases, new strains,” Al Saeedi said.
He emphasized that the lack of vaccinations has nothing to do with the financial problem and Sultan Haitham Bin Tarik, is an essential supporter of providing vaccines, adding that the government continues to take the necessary measures and requirements to protect society.
The minister clarified that vaccines are chosen according to scientific principles and that community safety is the basis, and the rate of vaccination for the first category (65 years) is above 95 per cent.
He revealed that some refused vaccination due to rumours, and some of them got admitted in intensive care and passed away. “We hope that the teaching staff will be vaccinated before the beginning of the next academic year,” Al Saeedi stated.
He made it clear that vaccines have been politicized and some countries have reserved more than they need.
Great efforts made
For his part, Dr. Abdulla Nasser Al Harrasi, Minister of Information, stressed that there is no choice but to continue commitment to the established controls in order to guarantee a faster return to life.
“These days are one of the most difficult periods of the COVID-19 pandemic that all humanity has suffered since the beginning of last year, despite all the great efforts made by various parties, especially the Ministry of Health and the rest of the health system institutions in the Sultanate,” the minister said.
“The decisions of the Supreme Committee for the blessed month of Ramadan are subject to review, and everyone must adhere to the precautionary measures and reduce gatherings,” he added.
“During the night lockdown movement ban, which will be implemented during Ramadan, some activities will be excluded, including the movement of three tons of trucks, pharmacies on the shift system, and workers in the health and media sectors with a prior permit," Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, revealed.
“The proposal to provide delivery service during the closure period was discussed, and due to the difficulty in monitoring these activities, we decided not to exclude them,” Al Yousef added.
