On Monday, Oman confirmed 11 new cases of the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the Sultanate to 66.
In a statement, the Omani Ministry of Health announced that eleven new cases of COVID-19 have been registered including seven citizens and two residents. It added that the new cases were placed in quarantine and they are in staple condition.
It is noteworthy that Oman is exerting great efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus with a package of new drastic measures that will be enforced across the country, including, the suspension of the printing, distribution and sale of all newspapers, magazines and publications.
It also decided to reduce the number of employees in public offices to 30 per cent in order to ensure the smoothness of workflow and perform vital duties. The remaining 70 per cent will accordingly continue to work from home as decided by their employers.
The Sultanate also decided to ban all types of public gatherings and punish violators. All service centres at public and private entities will also be closed. Services will be delivered online instead whenever possible. Other decisions also include the closure of all exchange shops, and exchange services will only be offered by banks while taking maximum precautionary measures.
It called on the private sector to introduce new remote working mechanisms and to reduce labor gatherings at workplace as much as possible, urging members of the public to stop using cash and pay online instead and to adhere to all guidelines and instructions issued by concerned authorities.
Some governments in the Middle East have launched national aid in the past days to counter the effects of the pandemic, including Saudi Arabia which announced a $32-billion stimulus package to support its local economy on Friday.
COVID-19 has infected more than 270,000 people globally, and has claimed the lives of nearly 10,000.
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