Coronavirus: Oman closes off largest free zone after a spate of new infections

Duqm is home to more than $10 billion worth of business investments

Oman has developed its Duqm port into a major industrial hub. Fatma Alarimi / Reuters

Oman will close off the coastal city of Duqm and its free zone, the largest in the country, for three weeks from Saturday after a spate of new coronavirus infections there, the ministry of health said.

The measure was announced as the sultanate reported 1,000-plus new cases on Thursday, but its total remains lower than other Gulf states except Bahrain. Saudi Arabia, which has the highest number of cases, reported a new record daily increase with 3,733 more confirmed infections, raising its tally to 116,021.

The Saudi health ministry said 38 more people died since Wednesday, taking the kingdom's total Covid-19 deaths to 857.

Qatar, where infections have been rising steeply, announced 1,476 new cases and three more fatalities on Thursday, bringing the respective totals to 75,071 and 69.

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Coronavirus in the Middle East

A worshipper sanitises his hands at a mosque in Kuwait City. AFP

A worshipper pulls a sheet of paper to fashion as a disposable prayer mat for noon prayers at a mosque in Kuwait City. AFP

A worker cleans a beach outside the closed sea castle of the port city of Sidon. Reuters

Mohammed Natour, who went from selling airline tickets to selling fruit and vegetables, after the coronavirus outbreak brought the tourism industry in Jordan to a sudden halt, serves a customer at his office in Amman, Jordan. Reuters

Women sew protective suits at a factory in Najaf, Iraq. Reuters

Iraqi orphan children draw in the classroom of an orphanage house during a curfew in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

A worker installs cut-out portraits of Fenerbahce fans at Fenerbahce Sukru Saracoglu Stadium in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images

Mannequins are seen placed between tables to help customers adhere to new restaurant social distancing rules at Varuna Gezgin restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey. Getty Images

Iraqi orphan children shave each other at an orphanage house in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters

A man repairs a vacuum cleaner at a repair shop in Iraq's southern city of Nasiriyah in Dhi Qar province. AFP

A boy flies a kite near sheep, in agriculture land named "El Shouna" at El-Marg district, east of Cairo. Reuters

A man carries a television while wearing a face mask near the Medina of Rabat in Morocco. AP Photo

Pedestrians, wearing protective masks due to the pandemic, walk past closed shops in the Moroccan capital Rabat. AFP

A member of a medical team wearing a protective suit takes a swab from a child at a medical clinic in Tripoli, Libya. Reuters

A man wearing a mask against the coronavirus Covid-19 stands at a fish stall in the Libyan capital Tripoli. AFP

A Saudi employee sorts out boxes at the warehouse of Naqel Company Express in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Reuters

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Bahrain's ministry of health reported 468 new Covid-19 cases and one more death on Thursday. It said 378 people have recovered, raising the recovery total to 11,487 out of the 16,667 cases reported so far, according to a tally kept by John Hopkins University.

The total number of cases in Kuwait rose to 34,432 with 609 new cases reported on Thursday, while the death toll rose by four to 279. Total recoveries rose by 849 to 24,137, the Kuwaiti health ministry said.

Although cases in Oman are comparatively low, the health ministry on Thursday ordered Duqm to be "closed from the rest of the country from June 13 to July 3 to control the rate of infection in the area”.

"Increase in the spread of the virus outside Muscat is due to the lack of physical distancing," state TV quoted Health Minister Ahmed Al Saeedi as saying.
The free zone in Duqm hosts more than $10 billion worth of investments, including a ship repair yard, an oil refinery, logistics centre, manufacturing units and a dry dock.
Oman has two other free zones – Sohar to the north and Salalah in the southern governorate of Dhofar.
The sultanate's health ministry announced that 1,311 more Covid-19 patients had recovered – nearly double the 689 recoveries reported on Wednesday. The total number of recoveries so far stands at  5,640.

Meanwhile, 1,067 new cases were reported in the previous 24 hours, the ministry said, taking the total number of infected people to 19,954.
Mr Al Saeedi said 232 healthcare workers were among the people currently infected with the virus.
Transport minister Ahmed Al Futaisi said domestic airports would not be reopened this month as planned since the infection rates in Duqm and Salalah were not easing.
"Resuming domestic flights will be delayed due to the lockdown of Dhofar and Duqm," he said.

Mr Al Futaisi said his ministry was working with UAE officials on reopening borders between the two countries.
"Co-ordination and talks between Oman and UAE to fully open the borders are under way," he said.
Oman has lost substantial revenue from closure of the airport in Salalah, a popular tourist destination, and the cancellation of the Khareef festival in the city because of the coronavirus outbreak, Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Mahrizi said.
"Nearly 80 million rials [Dh795m] will be lost this year compared to the last Khareef festival in Salalah, but the decision to close the Dhofar governorate was taken to save people's lives," Mr Al Mahrizi said.
The Khareef festival, which takes place every summer between June and August, has been cancelled for the first time in 34 years. The event attracts more than 100,000 visitors from the UAE and about 300,000 visitors from other GCC states.