Muscat: Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Saeedi, Minister of Health, member of the Supreme Committee tasked with tackling developments resulting from coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, has said that the first consignment of Covid-19 vaccine will reach Oman before the end of this year.
The minister cautioned that the pandemic is still lurking at the same rate of strength and power of propagation.
“No law compels anyone to take any vaccine, except childhood immunizations,” said Dr Ahmed, noting that whether or not to take the vaccine depends on the decision of the individual. In this respect, the minister said, “We rely on the awareness of society in this matter”. The minister pointed out that certain priorities in all countries govern who should take the vaccine first. “Once the vaccine is received in the Sultanate, it will be given first to eligible segments, free of charge,” he explained.
Dr Ahmed made the statement on Thursday during the 20th press conference held by the Supreme Committee since the outbreak of the pandemic.
There is no established proof of any death linked to the vaccine, said the minister, who reiterated confidence on society’s awareness and on the role of media in enhancing this awareness to refute such rumours. He advised all to ignore any news on Covid-19 vaccine deaths that are circulated by any means other than official media sources.
The minister explained that the side-effects of Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine are normal, like local pain, headache or fever that might be associated with any other medical drug. The Covid-19 vaccines were produced after going through the same procedures of any other vaccine, except that Covid-19 process has been accelerated, but without prejudice to the vaccine’s safety as a medical drug, the minister added.
Dr Ahmed pointed out that the number of cases of infection in the Sultanate declined since mid-October 2020, due to a number of factors, including public cooperation in implementing precautionary measures. However, the number of infection cases might pick up again if commitment to health procedures is relaxed.
The minister stressed that officials going out on inspection tours must stick to face masks and other precautionary measures. In this respect, Dr Ahmed referred to instructions issued by the Minister of Information not to cover events where the precautionary measures are compromised. He called upon all to cooperate to ease pressure on the health sector and auxiliary departments to avoid any peaks of the pandemic that might jeopardize health services and health programs, as had been experienced earlier.
The epidemiological situation in the Sultanate will be closely monitored before taking any decision about students’ full attendance at schools, colleges or institutes, said Dr Ahmed.
He added that any decision to absolve employees suffering chronic diseases from attending at the workplace is the discretion of heads of units (ministers), depending on the patient’s condition.
He warned that the re-opening of more activities does not mean any ‘business-as-usual’ condition. The risks posed by the virus are still high and it is hoped that the Supreme Committee would not be compelled to again impose a lockdown.
In her turn, Maitha bint Saif al Mahrouqiya, Tourism Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism, said that direct losses caused due to the spread of coronavirus pandemic in the Sultanate are estimated at a half billion Omani Rials as at the end of September this year.
Maitha pointed out the cancellation of visa requirement for tourists hailing from different countries in the world will encourage foreigners to visit Oman and speed up the recovery of the tourism sector. The Ministry endorsed Recovery Plan that includes the re-opening of some tourism activities, she added.
She explained that the quarantine period for people arriving into the Sultanate has been shortened and that “The timeframe has been substituted by the PCR test and health isolation till proof is furnished of negative result of the tested person on visit to the Sultanate.”
She commended the Government’s consent to re-open activities and provide incentives to the private sector as a step in the right direction that assisted the sector to stand firm, despite the crisis, and secure the stability of jobs of not less than 15,773 people who work in the tourism sector.
Besides considering the safety of the tourism sector against risks posed by Covid-19, the Ministry’s Recovery Plan will enhance the sustainability of the human capital, support local communities, foster tourism communication and promotion and back investment in the tourism sector, said Maitha, adding that details of the plan will be unveiled later.
In reply to a query, Maitha explained that the Ministry waived entry visas for citizens from 103 countries to encourage tourism activity. The Ministry values the cooperation of other departments concerned in this regard.
In his turn, Major Mohammed bin Salam al Hashami, Head of Electronic Media at the Directorate of Public Relations at the ROP, said that, generally, there is a decline in the number of fines and offenders, which, he attributed to great awareness among society individuals. The largest number of fines fall in the category of “failure to wear the face mask in a public place”, said Maj Al Hashami, noting that some re-opened establishments received tickets for violation of instructions.
A sharp decline in the number of Covid-19 infection cases has been registered recently, as cases dropped from 26% in past few months to 4% among individuals of society, said Dr Saif bin Salim al Abri, Director-General of Disease Surveillance and Control at the Ministry of Health.
While infection cases continue to fluctuate locally and globally, the situation is being closely monitored in Oman, Dr Saif said.
He added that, for people wishing to visit the Sultanate, medical test report is compulsory to be obtained prior to arrival. As for lab test, it is restricted to border checkpoints, he explained.
In the meantime, Dr Badr bin Saif al Rowahi, Director of Disease Control Department at the Ministry of Health, said that vaccination by Covid-19 medical drug will begin early next year, with priority to be accorded to high-risk groups that are more prone to disease complications or death, like people aged above 65 years and patients suffering diabetics, kidney failure or Chronic Lung Infection.
Al Rowahi added that the segment of health workers to receive the vaccine has been decided, with priority to be given to employees at intensive care units and Covid-19 care units, as well as to patients admitted to these units, where children below 18 years and allergic patients are exempted from the vaccine. --ONA
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