Muscat: The Supreme Committee on Covid-19 held its 23rd press Conference on Thursday, which was attended by the representatives from the Ministry of Health, Social Development, and Royal Oman Police (ROP).
Earlier today, the SC decided to extend the closure of beaches, public parks in all governorates until further notice, with an emphasis on banning all kinds of gatherings.
Highlights of the press conference are:
Minister of Health: The epidemiological situation is painful and worrying as since mid-January the numbers started to escalate.
Minister of Health: 288 new cases and four deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.
Minister of Health: Intensive care units under pressure again.
Minister of Health: The Eastern Mediterranean Region is still witnessing an increase in the number of injuries, while other regions have witnessed stability and perhaps a decrease in injuries.
Minister of Health: Oman has reserved 200,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Minister of Health: Some people still do not trust the AstraZeneca vaccine and insist on receiving the Pfizer vaccine. Everyone must be reassured that the Sultanate would not take any step without first making sure of their safety and efficacy. These vaccines are the same but from different manufacturing companies.
Minister of Health: We conducted 7,000 examinations within 24 hours, and 52,858 people vaccinated so far.
Minister of Health: 95 percent of the target population for vaccination was covered in the first stage.
Minister of Health: People aged 60 years old will receive the vaccine the next week.
Minister of Health: There is a plan to involve the private sector in distributing doses to those who wanted to receive them when vaccines arrive in large numbers.
Minister of Health: 192 patients in health institutions, including 68 in the intensive care units, 48 of them with the artificial respiratory system.
Minister of Health: There were 10 cases admitted to ICU yesterday as they delayed going to health centers
Minister of Health: There is still no clear vision in the world about what the epidemiological situation will look like in a month or a month and a half.
Minister of Health: Oman is one of the top 30 countries that have started to provide vaccination.
Minister of Health: Funding is not an obstacle to obtaining more vaccines, but rather the failure of companies to produce what is needed for all countries of the world.
MOH: Vaccination reduces disease and death complications and reduces the number of hospitalized patients.
MOH: Any vaccine with an effectiveness rate of 50 percent is considered safe and good.
MOH: There are no serious complications for the vaccines that have been licensed so far, and all detected side-effects are very mild and normal.
MOH: Vaccines have proven very effective in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America, where the death rate and the number of hospitalizations have decreased.
Dr. Saif al Abri: A health passport for Covid 19 among the GCC countries is under discussion, and a step is expected to be taken on its launch in the coming weeks.
Dr. Saif Al-Abri: There are cases reported in teachers and school students, but after the epidemiological investigation, it appears that the source of the epidemic is community transportation, their lack of commitment to wearing masks, and social distancing.
Dr. Saif bin al Abri: Institutional quarantine is still mandatory for those who have received the vaccine, and there is no exemption.
Ministry of Social Development: Airlines are required to provide a list of travelers coming to the Sultanate to facilitate the institutional quarantine process, based on the decision of the Supreme Committee.
The conference was attended by Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi Minister of Health, Rashid Ahmed al Shamsi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Social Development,
Dr. Saif bin Salim al Abri, Director General of Disease Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health, Dr. Salem Hamdan Salem al Tamimi, senior consultant pediatrician clinical immunologist & allergist, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Major Mohammad bin Salam al Hashami, Directorate of Public Relations, Royal Oman Police (ROP).
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