Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Spotlight: Bracelets must be returned after quarantine

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One of the major mistakes people have been making while entering Oman and going through quarantine is forgetting to return the medical bracelet.


Any visitor arriving in Oman must have international COVID-19 insurance covering Covid treatment for one month besides registering with Tarassud + which costs RO 25 (RO 19 for PCR test and RO 6 for bracelet).


“After the registration the immigration will allow them to move to PCR swab test. This is where it is ensured the system is all linked together with Tarassud plus application, bracelet and the individual’s phone. Then the individual is taken through the health education and awareness section. This is a place where they get to know how to receive information about their PCR test results and the quarantine rules and regulations issued by the Supreme Committee, as well as where to return the electronic bracelet after the quarantine,” explained Dr Khalid al Harthy, Directorate-General for Diseases Surveillance and Control, Ministry of Health.


Any quarantine violation can cost a fine of RO 300, destruction of the bracelet can cost RO 200 and any other issue will be dealt with a fine of RO 100.


People who are coming to the Sultanate for fewer than seven days are exempted from the requirement of wearing the electronic bracelet.


“People who are coming into the country for fewer than seven days are in rare cases such as experts coming in for emergencies as trouble shooters as in the case of oil and gas industries. They must follow the normal procedure except for the bracelet, and they will go through the test and health education to make themselves aware of the rules and regulations of the Sultanate to ensure they follow masking and social distancing. And they can only move about if the PCR test is negative,” he pointed out.


New rules are expected in regard to taking PCR tests before coming to Oman.


The common mistakes made by people are not sticking to their health quarantine.


“It is important to stick by the health quarantine announced by the Supreme Committee. There are two issues people need to understand — the pandemic is all around the world. Maybe the person is not having the disease but he/she is coming from outside the country, so they have to take time before they can mix with the community to ensure they are accustomed to the current conditions. That is a period of 14 days,” pointed out Dr Khalid.


“The other mistake people are making is regarding the bracelet. The bracelet does not belong to the company; it belongs to the Ministry of Health. Many expatriates and Omanis also are not returning the bracelet and they are merely cutting it off. The good thing is the bracelet is also linked to the system so anytime the system can detect and give a report on the individual who is tampering with the bracelet, switching off the mobile phone or leaving it behind, or not returning the bracelet back to the ministry.”


There had been some issues in early October regarding clarity on where to return the bracelet, but now it has been resolved.


“We have been using the bracelets from the beginning stages of the pandemic but now we have handed it over to a company to manage it. There is a list of health centres and private sector health institutions that have been selected to be responsible in collecting the bracelets,” Dr Khalid clarified.


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