Nearly 16,000 arrivals undergoing Covid-19 quarantine in Oman

Entry ban for 10 countries and online learning extended as weekly infections total 2,361

The Haramil area of the Omani capital Muscat. Oman extended a ban on entry for travellers from 10 countries on March 11, 2020. AFP

Oman has nearly 16,000 travellers in mandatory hotel quarantine across the country, health officials said on Thursday.

Officials extended a ban on arrivals from 10 countries for another two weeks, in a bid to control a surge in Covid-19 cases.

The country introduced the seven-day hotel quarantine requirement for all arrivals on February 15.

A week later, the government ordered some companies to build “isolation shelters” on their premises to quarantine foreign workers arriving in the country.

Its Ministry of Health initially listed about 20 hotels in which inbound passengers could quarantine, but as the number of arrivals increased, mostly Omanis returning home, the number of hotels was increased to more than 70.

Institutional quarantine centres, including hotels, now number more than 400 nationwide.

“More than half of the people under the hotel quarantine are in Muscat, the rest are distributed to other cities and towns in Oman,” the committee responsible for the country's Covid-19 response said.

The committee also extended a ban on entry for travellers from Sudan, Lebanon, South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ethiopia until March 25. The ban was first imposed on February 25 to curb the spread of the coronavirus, in particular certain mutated strains.

On Thursday, the health ministry that the sultanate recorded 2,361 new cases this week.

"It is important for citizens and residents in Oman to continue to follow safety measures and take the vaccines for the target groups or infection cases could climb further," the ministry said in a statement aired on Oman TV.
The Covid-19 response committee also decided to extend distance education at government schools until March 25, with the exception of Grade 12 students who will be taught through a mix of online and classroom lessons.