Oman to impose nighttime curfew amid spike in COVID19 infections

DUBAI: Oman will impose a nighttime curfew 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting March 28 until April 8, state news agency ONA reported.
The decision was announced in response to the increasing number of infections and high fatality rate in the country.
Pupils of government schools are also required to continue studying online until April 8, except 12th graders, the Supreme Committee said.
It added that it expects the period from April 1 to May 31 to be a difficult coronavirus situation in the country.
Meanwhile, head of the contagious diseases unit at the Royal Hospital Dr Faryal Al-Lawati said the increasing number of cases was due to lenience in implementing preventive measures.
Al-Lawati added that multiple coronavirus cases were caused by people arriving in the country who did not abide by quarantine measures.
“The tragedy is that some of those who get infections and experience respiratory system inflammation symptoms still mingle with others, instead of isolating themselves,” she said.
The doctor added that she expected the Supreme Committee to impose stricter measures, as the situation may get out of control if no action was taken now.
“There is a concern that we might reach a stage where we will be unable to provide proper care to Covid-19 patients if the number of infections keeps rising. Also, full focus on COVID-19 patients will deprive other patients who need health services,” she said.
Al-Lawati also said 50 percent of patients admitted to intensive care units depended on available equipment.
The most recent data puts Oman’s total number of COVID-19 infections at 153,838, with 140,766 recoveries and 1,650 deaths.
Fellow Gulf state Qatar on Thursday also tightened restrictions. The state news agency said authorities ordered the closure of leisure centers, gyms and swimming pools and for shopping malls to operate at a reduced capacity of 30% while cinemas would run at 20% capacity.
Daily coronavirus cases have also been increasing in Qatar, which on Wednesday reported 570 new infections compared with a daily rate below 200 in December.