Indian medics return to Oman as coronavirus cases surge

On Monday, Oman registered its highest daily cases since the virus reached its shores

Travellers will have to quarantine after they return to Oman from overseas. Bloomberg

Oman has flown medical workers back to Muscat from India as daily coronavirus case numbers in the sultanate reached a peak on Monday.

The 73 Indian doctors and nurses were flown back into the country early on Monday on a special chartered flight arranged by the Omani Ministry of Health.

The group was on annual leave in their home country when stay-home measures began, closing airports and preventing them from returning to Oman.

“It is good to be back in Oman and start working on this terrible pandemic," Sushistra Gupta, 28, an Indian nurse who returned to work in a government hospital in Muscat, said.

"I was supposed to be back from India in April but there were no flights then. We are all together in this ordeal and hopefully together we can save many lives.”

Oman recorded 1,605 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, the largest daily total since the pandemic started, taking the total number of infected people to 31,076.

Six new deaths were reported on Monday, taking the toll to 137, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry also said that 856 patients recovered from the virus in the last 24 hours, taking the total recoveries from the disease to 16,408. More than 400 people are currently in hospital with the disease, including 100 in intensive care units.

The health ministry blamed the rise in infections on construction labour camps for breaking social-distancing rules and safety procedures.

“Construction camps need to follow the pandemic rules. There are reports workers do not respect the safety procedures since the reopening of this sector,” the Ministry of Health said.

Last week, Oman allowed most shops in the high streets to reopen but ordered malls and education institutions to stay closed.

Coronavirus around the region: in pictures

A latex glove-and-mask-clad worker sanitises a table for clients at a cafe in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh, as the country begins to re-open following the lifting of a lockdown. AFP

Employees wearing face masks are pictured at the port of Jebel Ali, operated by the Dubai-based ports operator DP World, in the southern outskirts of Dubai. AFP

Saudi youths ride bicycles at the seafront promenade in the Saudi seaport of Jeddah, as the country re-opens following the lifting of a lockdown due to the pandemic. AFP

Syrian refugees enjoy their weekend at Menekse Beach, amid the ongoing pandemic in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

Iraqi volunteers with the Aqiq Institution for Charity work on building a 525-bed field hospital at the Baghdad International Fair exhibition centre in the capital Baghdad. AFP

Iraqi volunteers with the Aqiq Institution for Charity work on building a 525-bed field hospital at the Baghdad International Fair exhibition centre in the capital Baghdad. AFP

A man wearing a face mask to protect against the spread of coronavirus, embraces a friend in city the centre, in Ankara, Turkey. AP Photo

A Turkish Airlines plane prepares for landing as Syrian refugees enjoy their weekend at Menekse Beach, amid the ongoing pandemic in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

Members of the medical staff rest in a field during their break in the town of Moulay Bousselham, north of the capital Rabat, as authorities received around 700 Covid-19 patients. AFP

Moroccans, who tested positive for Covid-19, arrive in a parking lot in the town of Moulay Bousselham, north of the capital Rabat, ahead of being transferred to a medical centre in another city. AFP

Mask-clad men walk along the promenade of Tahlia street in the centre of Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh. AFP