Coronavirus: Oman seals off Muscat as cases increase across the Gulf

Saudi Arabia puts most areas in the holy city of Madinah under lockdown

Oman has announced double the amount of daily coronavirus cases as the health ministry blames the public for not adhering to government prevention guidelines. AFP

Oman on Friday banned entry to its capital as the number of novel coronavirus cases increased across the Gulf region.

Omani authorities also ordered residents of Muscat to remain in the city as they announced 27 more confirmed infections and one more death from Covid-19. A total of 546 people have contracted Covid-19 in Oman and three have died.

Oman has barred entry to all non-citizens, including expatriates with residency visas, and barred passenger ships from docking as part of measures to contain the spread of the virus which has infected more than 1.7 million people across the world and caused nearly 109,000 deaths.

Other Gulf countries have taken similar measures over the past month, with further restrictions announced as the number cases continued to rise.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia announced a lockdown in several districts of the holy city of Madinah as it announced 364 new cases.

"We took measures to prevent movement and to advise individuals not to leave their homes in the neighbourhoods of Al Sherbat, Bani Dhafar, Qurban, Juma and Bani Khudra starting today," the interior ministry said.

It said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development would provide those in need with food baskets and other supplies.

New cases took the total number of Covid-19 patients in the kingdom to 4,033, of whom 720 have recovered, the health ministry said. The number of coronavirus-related deaths was 52 as of Sunday.

In Bahrain, the health ministry reported 26 new cases on Friday, bringing the total to 913.

“Out of the 26 new cases eight were contracted abroad and 18 were in contact with previously infected patients in the country,” the ministry said.

The ministry also announced the death of a 63-year-old Bahraini who suffered from health conditions and was among nationals repatriated from Iran.

“The deceased got the necessary treatment and care around the clock by the specialised medical teams,” the ministry said.

By Sunday, the total number of Covid-19 deaths in Bahrain had reached six and 1,040 cases had been recorded.

The health ministry also announced that 11 people had recovered and moved out of the intensive care units over the weekend, taking the total number of recoveries in Bahrain to 555.

Qatar's health ministry 136 new cases and 21 more recoveries on Friday. At least 2,195 people were tested for the virus in 24 hours, it said.

On Sunday, the country's total case count stood at 2,728, with the number of fatalities at six.

Kwuait reported 83 new coronavirus infections on Friday, raising the total infections in the country to 993. By Sunday, that had risen to 1,154.

The country has recorded one death.

Health Minister Sheikh Basil Al Sabah said that 12 patients have recovered, raising the total recoveries to 133.

There were 26 patients in intensive care, 10 of whom were in critical condition.

Kuwaiti authorities have indicated that they may extend the restriction on public movement to curb the spread of the virus.